South Korea’s information company Yonhap reported that South Korea on Tuesday signed a contract to promote K9 self-propelled howitzers to Egypt in a deal price over 2 trillion received (US$1.65 billion). South Korean Arms Procurement Company stated, marking the artillery system’s first entry into the African market. The deal consists of the manufacturing of K9s in Egypt and a know-how switch, in line with the Protection Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). Hanwha Protection, the South Korean producer, and Egypt’s protection ministry inked the most important K9 export deal within the Artillery Home, a army facility in Cairo, capping greater than 10 years of on-again, off-again talks.
“It’s an achievement made by means of a mixture of technological cooperation, collaboration by way of localized manufacturing and pan-government assist, which works past simply the transactional relationship between the 2 nations,” Protection Acquisition Program Administration chief Kang Eun-ho was quoted as saying.
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The DAPA didn’t elaborate on different particulars, together with when and what number of K9 howitzers will likely be equipped to Egypt. The deal will make Egypt the eighth overseas nation to undertake the K9 system. The opposite nations which have chosen the system are Turkey, Poland, India, Norway, Finland, Estonia, and Australia. The signing adopted final month’s summit between President Moon Jae-in and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo, which the DAPA stated helped create much-needed momentum for the conclusion of the deal. The DAPA and Egypt’s protection ministry additionally signed a separate memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation in protection analysis and growth.
The K9 Thunder is a South Korean 155 mm self-propelled howitzer designed and developed by the Company for Protection Growth and Samsung Aerospace Industries for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, and is now manufactured by Hanwha Protection. K9 howitzers function in teams with the K10 computerized ammunition resupply automobile variant. The complete K9 fleet operated by the ROK Armed Forces is now present process upgrades to K9A1 customary, and an extra growth of a K9A2 variant is in course of. Presently, greater than 1,700 K9 variants are stated to be in service in such nations as Turkey, Poland, Finland, India, Norway and Estonia.
