Hanwha Aerospace inks W1.4tr arms deal with Romania

Hanwha Aerospace has secured a 1.4 trillion won ($1 billion) arms contract with Romania to export 54 units of the K9 self-propelled howitzer and 36 units of the K10 ammunition resupply vehicle, the Korean defense firm said Wednesday.

According to Hanwha Aerospace, the delivery of the arms machinery will begin in 2027 in phases. The company said it beat out the competing bidders from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization such as Germany's PzH2000 and Turkey's Firtina to secure the contract.

With the signing, Romania has become the 10th country in the world to operate Hanwha Aerospace's K9 howitzers. South Korea, Turkey, Poland, India, Finland, Norway, Estonia, Australia and Egypt operate Hanwha's howitzers. The accumulated amount of the K9 export has surpassed 13 trillion won.

The deal, which marked the biggest in Romania's arms acquisition over the last seven years, was made about three months after President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis to discuss stronger cooperation in defense in Seoul in April.

Hanwha Aerospace said it plans to bid for the Romanian government's infantry fighting vehicle procurement project with its Redback IFVs that won a 3.2 trillion won arms deal with Australia in December last year.

"Korea's K9 self-propelled howitzers have now become a symbol of the country's defense industry as they protect many regions across the globe," said a Hanwha Aerospace official.

"We will do our best to create another best seller through the Redback contract."