On Monday, 30 March 2026, the Romanian Land Forces (Forţele Terestre Române) presented on social media the first 155 mm K9 Tanetul self-propelled howitzer manufactured by the South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace. The name Tanetul means “Thunder” in Romanian, matching the manufacturer’s name.
Photo: Forţele Terestre Române via Facebook
As reported, the first K9 Tanetul rolled off the production line at Hanwha Aerospace’s manufacturing facility (part of the Hanwha Group) in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Republic of Korea, and is ready for delivery.
It is worth recalling that on 9 July 2024, Hanwha Aerospace signed a contract worth approximately 1 billion USD with Romania’s Ministry of National Defence for the delivery of 54 K9 Thunder 155 mm/L52 self-propelled howitzers, together with 36 K10 ammunition resupply and support vehicles.
The first 18 howitzers are to come from the production line in Changwon, while the remaining 36 will be built at the Hanwha Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence (H-ACE) Europe in Petrești, Dâmbovița County, whose construction was inaugurated on 12 February this year.
Under the contract, deliveries are scheduled to begin in early 2027 and to be completed by 2029, enabling the equipment of three self-propelled artillery battalions, although it cannot be ruled out that they may take place earlier. The contract also provides for the delivery of more than 17,352 high-explosive fragmentation rounds, as well as 324 smoke rounds, 324 illumination rounds, and 720 training rounds.
Each battalion is to consist of 18 howitzers, nine spare barrel assemblies, 12 ammunition transport and loading vehicles, artillery observation vehicles, a weather station, three TEHE-VAC armored recovery vehicles, and three acoustic detection systems.
New howitzers for Romania
The tender procedure in this matter had been under way since 27 July 2023, and the deadline for submitting initial bids expired on 11 September 2023. Three bids were submitted at that time: one from South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace with the K9 Thunder, one from Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (now KNDS Deutschland) with the Panzerhaubitze 2000, and one from Türkiye’s BMC Savunma Sanayi with the T-155 Firtina. Interestingly, according to reports from Romania, Poland (PGZ/Huta Stalowa Wola with the Krab self-propelled howitzer) and the United Kingdom (BAE Systems with Archer?) were also said to be interested in the procedure, but the Polish side’s request to extend the bid submission deadline was rejected.
On 19 June 2024, Romania’s Minister of Defence, Angel Tîlvăr, announced the purchase of 54 K9 howitzers during a meeting in Bucharest with his South Korean counterpart, Shin Won-sik. Romanian media had been speculating since January that Hanwha Aerospace’s bid would be selected, with the specialist outlet Defense Romania being the first to report it.
It is also worth recalling that when the first reports about plans to procure self-propelled artillery systems appeared on 4 July 2023, Romanian specialist media indicated that the South Korean K9 Thunder – currently the most widely used 155 mm howitzer in its class worldwide – would be the favorite in the upcoming procurement procedure.
See also: