K9 Thunder Self-Propelled Howitzer / Why is it so successful?
The K9 Thunder is the rising star of the international self-propelled howitzer, shortly SPH, market. In the last five years, it has won many important tenders. A decade ago, few would have guessed this brilliant South Korean achievement.
Indeed, the K9 Thunder’s international market success is tremendous in the last five years. It has found new customers in three continents. The tracked K9 has beaten the strong contenders, such as the PzH-2000 and 2S19.
It has managed to compete with the truck-mounted howitzers, which has become the new trend of the SPH market.
And South Korea had not been even one of the traditional artillery system suppliers a decade ago. What is the secret of this achievement? Before seeking the answer to this question, let’s briefly look at the historical background and technical features of the K9.
After the Korean War, the USA had been so generous in supplying South Korea with a vast amount of military equipment and helping this country’s industrialization efforts.
In the 1980s, South Korea also took advantage of the bountiful technology transfers for military systems.
So, in 1985, South Korea began to produce a local variant of the M109, called K-55, under licence.
But, the operational requirements of the Republic of Korea Army were quite different from the US Army. The mobility of the K55 was not entirely suitable for the mountainous Korean Peninsula. Also, it had only a 23.5 kilometres firing range, while the North Korean M-1978 Koksan could send a 170mm round to 60 kilometres.
So, in 1989, by using experience gained from the K55, South Korea started a programme for a new 155mm SPH, which would have a higher firing range, rate of fire, mobility.
Initially, the Republic of Korea Army evaluated an upgraded variant of the K55. But, the hull of the base vehicle, the M109, had no capacity for enhancement to meet the requirement.
In 1992, South Korea also considered updating the K55 to M109A6 Paladin’s standards. But, the capabilities of the Paladin was too low to answer the Republic of Korea Army’s needs.
So, South Korea decided to develop an indigenous SPH, called K9. Seoul selected Samsung Techwin, today Hanwha Techwin, as the prime contractor. The company completed the first two prototypes, called XK9, in 1994. Later, the Republic of Korea Army received three pre-production SPHs for further trials. These five vehicles were subjected to many challenging tests, during which over 12,000 projectiles were fired. In 1999, the Republic of Korea Marine Corps took the first production model of the K9 into service.
Australia, Estonia, Finland, India, Norway and South Korea are the current users of the K9.
The five-person crew consists of a commander, driver, gunner, and two loaders. The SPH is 12 metres long, 3.4 metres wide, and 2.73 metres high. Its combat weight is 46.3 tons. The 1,000 horsepower STX-MTU MT 881 Ka-500 diesel engine provides a maximum speed of 67 kilometres per hour. The range of the vehicle is 360 kilometres. The K9 can negotiate 0.75-metre vertical steps, 2.8-metre trenches and can ford to a depth of 1.5 metres. The maximum range of the 155mm/52 calibre CN98 gun is 40,000 metres with the K307 Extended Range Full-Bore-Base Bleed projectile. The rate of fire is between six to eight rounds per minute. The elevation of the 155mm gun is between -2.5 to 70 degrees. The turret can be traversed 360 degrees. The K9 carries 48 projectiles.
Australia names its own SPHs AS9 Huntsman, Estonia K9 Kõu, Finland K9FIN Moukari, India K9 Vajra-T, and Norway K9 VIDAR.
The K9 Vajra-T has a gunner’s sight for direct fire, and it is customized for desert operation.
The K9A1 variant has a more advanced fire control system and an improved driver’s night periscope with front and rear cameras. Its inertial navigation system is coupled with GPS. The A1 also has an auxiliary power unit.
The Norwegian K9 VIDAR is a variant of the K9A1 with better protection.
The Australian AS9 Huntsman variant is developed based on K9VIDAR, and it has enhanced fire control and battle management systems. Its anti-tank mine protection is higher. The AS9 has a remote-controlled weapon station. Due to increasing weight, the suspension of the vehicle is improved.
The K9A2 variant is currently under development. It will have an enhanced main gun with increased barrel life from 1,000 rounds to 1,500 rounds. The A2 will also have an extended firing range. Thanks to the fully automated autoloading system, the crew will be reduced to three-person, and the rate of fire will be increased. The K9A2 will have composite rubber tracks, which will reduce vibration, noise, and maintenance requirements. Its anti-tank mine protection will be similar to the AS9's.
The K9A3 will be a fully automated and unmanned variant of the K9A2.
There are also two sub-variant of the K9, the Turkish T-155 Fırtına and the Polish AHS Krab.
Turkey modernized some M44 and M52s with German assistance in the 1980s and 1990s. With the experience gained from these programmes, an SPH called Fatih was developed locally in the late 1990s.
This vehicle had many German subsystems. But, Germany refused to provide licence production rights of these systems, so Turkey turned to South Korea.
The T-155 Fırtına is simply the Turkish production variant of the K9. Yet, these two SPHs have some distinct differences. The T-155 has a heavier and bigger turret, which increases the combat weight to 47 tons. Different from the K9, it is equipped with an auxiliary power unit. Besides its inertial navigation and electronic systems, some parts of its hull are also developed locally.
Today, Turkey is taking delivery of the Fırtına 2 variant, which has an extended firing range, a higher rate of fire, and a remote-controlled weapon station.
The AHS Krab is not a direct derivative or variant of the K9. But, this Polish SPH has the same hull as its South Korean cousin.
The hull and turret of the K9 are of all-welded MIL-12560H armour steel with a maximum thickness of 19 millimetres, which protects against 14.5mm armour-piercing rounds and shell splinters.
The A1 variant has a driver’s safety system, which automatically stops the turret rotation if the driver’s hatch remains open and is at a dangerous angle to the driver.
The SPH has a CBRN protection system.
It only takes one minute for the K9 to switch from on the move to open fire.
It has an automatic loading system.
The SPH can send three rounds to the target in 15 seconds in burst mode.
Thanks to its “multiple rounds simultaneous impact” mode, these three rounds can simultaneously hit a single point. After the first burst, the K9 can fire eight rounds per minute for the first 3 minutes. The SPH’s sustain rate of fire is two to three rounds per minute.
Its automatic fire control system provides rapid aiming, faster shooting, and improved accuracy.
The Doppler-type muzzle velocity measuring system, which feeds information to the onboard computer, is mounted over the rear part of the gun.
After the firing, the K9 can leave its position in 30 seconds, which helps to avoid the counterbattery fire tremendously.
The 155mm/52 calibre CN98 gun is coupled with a sensor, which continuously measures the temperature of the barrel to ensure firing safety.
Its large multiple slotted muzzle brake reduces the firing impulse applied to the recoil system and also provides a superior capability of attenuating the blast overpressure and flash.
The K9A1 can reach 54 kilometres firing range with new ammunition that combines base bleed with rocket-assisted propulsion.
The K10 ammunition resupply vehicle, which carries 104 155mm artillery shells and 504 propellant charges, can support a team of K9 under armour protection. It takes 37 minutes to fully load a K9.
Similarly, Turkey developed the Poyraz ammunition resupply vehicle for its T-155 fleet. Different from its South Korean cousin, it has an auxiliary power unit. The Poyraz can carry up to 96 155mm shells. It can fully load a T-155 in 20 minutes.
Thanks to its hydropneumatic suspensions, the K9 has excellent cross country mobility, especially over mountainous terrain.
On November 23, 2010, the K9 Thunder was baptized with fire during the bombardment of Yeonpyeong. The 7th Artillery Company of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps conducted counterattacks against the surprise North Korean artillery bombardment. Two of six K9s suffered minor damage in the early stages of the attack, and one of the SPHs experienced a shell stuck in the barrel due to a misfire from a faulty charge. But, the remaining howitzers managed to cease the North Korean fire.
Since 2007, the Turkish Armed Forces has successfully used the T-155s against terrorist groups. Also, this SPH has carried out important artillery support missions in Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war. As a matter of fact, the accurate attacks of the Turkish artillery became the subject of a study at NATO headquarters.
But, at least one T-155 was destroyed by an anti-tank missile due to poor perimeter defence of the firing site.
Let’s turn back our question at the beginning. Why has the K9 become a rising star of the international SPH market? This SPH has both tracked and wheeled competitors.
The truck-mounted howitzers, which has become the new trend of the SPH market, have a strong claim, which is thanks to improved automotive technologies, they have similar mobility with the tracked ones. But, the keyword here is “similar”, not “same”. Yet, there is another catch, which is unnoticeable. The cross country mobility of the wheeled vehicles is similar to the tracked ones on the plains with a small rough, not on the mountains or the ice.
If you closely look at the commercial success of the K9, we can see it has won the tenders of the countries, which generally have mountainous terrain. So, why have these countries not chosen the other tracked SPHs, such as the PzH-2000? On the paper, this German vehicle is superior to the K9 in many ways. It can fire three rounds in 9 seconds in burst mode and reach 67 kilometres of a firing range. The PzH-2000 can carry 12 more rounds than its South Korean rival.
These two SPHs competed against each other in Norway. The result has shown that the K9’s cross country mobility on the mountainous terrain is superior.
Similarly, India tested the K9 against the Russian 2S19. The results were the same.
Germany and Russia are not mountainous countries. So, they developed the SPHs, which are suitable for the war on the plains.
But, South Korea designed the K9 for its mountainous geography. The countries, which need a similar type of SPH, naturally chose the Thunder.
Alright, why have the other countries, like Australia, which are not mountainous, chosen the K9?
Because it is cheaper in every way, open to being developed, and free from political issues.
In the last 30 years, Western European companies have accepted producing several hundred units of an artillery system as a big success.
However, South Korea produces a few thousand units. A large volume production means lower unit cost and ample and inexpensive availability of spare parts. This fact makes the K9 is about 60 per cent cheaper than the PzH-2000.
Besides, Western European companies have fallen into the grip of a strange bureaucratical structure. So, they have to grapple with many certifications that painfully take a long time and cost for even a simple modification.
However, South Korea can quickly and cost-effectively adopt the K9 to customers demands.
Western European countries, which play active roles in world politics, can be biased in political matters according to their interest or values. It is ethically understandable but not beneficial for business.
Commercial success has naturally come when South Korea’s more neutral business-oriented marketing strategy, is combined with its smoother approach to technology transfer.
So, the K9’s achievement in the international market is not a surprise. Currently, it is the most cost-effective Western SPH. But don’t be wrong. It is not cheap in the same way with the phrase “if you buy cheaply, you pay dearly”. The K9 is a highly effective and powerful SPH. It is one of the top in its class.
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