7 countries interested in K-9 guns: sources

Seven countries from Asia, Europe and Africa have expressed their intent to purchase South Korea’s K-9 Thunder self-propelled guns at Eurosatory international defense expo, military and industry sources said Wednesday.

The five-day defense and security industry trade show brought together a total of 1,600 companies from 70 countries and is set to conclude on Friday.

The 155-millimeter K-9 howitzer is on the forefront of the South Korean military technologies demonstrated at the Eurosatory. 

Its developer, Hanhwa Techwin, held a presentation session with the participating countries,

Officials said the K-9’s popularity in Europe had increased, after the weapon was recently exported to Turkey and Poland. One of the countries using the K-9 is reportedly mulling an additional purchase.

Hanhwa Techwin is expected to ink an export deal of some 100 K-9 guns to unspecified Asian countries as early as August.

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)