Poland Receives All 212 K9 Self-Propelled Howitzers Under First Contract

The Polish Armed Forces have completed delivery of all 212 K9A1 Thunder self-propelled howitzers under the first contract signed with South Korea.

Paweł Bejda, Secretary of State at Poland’s Ministry of National Defence, confirmed the delivery of the final batch.

The 155mm self-propelled howitzers were transferred to the 1st Masurian Artillery Brigade of the 16th Mechanized Division.

The value of this executive agreement with Hanwha Defense is $2.4 billion. The previous transfer of 21 K9 howitzers took place in mid-November.

The South Korean artillery systems are helping to reduce the shortage of self-propelled artillery in the Polish Army, which emerged after Poland transferred artillery to Ukraine as part of military assistance following Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Back in 2022, Poland signed a framework agreement with Hanwha Defense to purchase a total of 672 howitzers, of which 212 were K9A1 versions manufactured in South Korea.

At a later stage, the self-propelled howitzers will be upgraded to the K9PL version, developed by specialists from the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) in cooperation with Hanwha Defense.

Around 460 additional artillery systems are to be built in Poland at a new facility directly in the K9PL configuration, starting in 2026.

The contract also includes K10 ARV and K11 FDCV support vehicles, which provide automated resupply of ammunition for the self-propelled howitzers.

The main differences in the Polish vehicles will be the integrated C2 command and positioning system and the TOPAZ automated fire-control suite, designed to operate with Polish command vehicles.

Poland is currently implementing a second executive contract worth $2.6 billion for the delivery of an additional 152 K9 self-propelled howitzers, including six K9A1 and 146 K9PL units, according to Defence24.

The K9 Thunder is a modern 155 mm self-propelled artillery system developed in South Korea. It features a 52-caliber barrel, an armored hull, and an automated fire-control system. Its firing range reaches up to 40 km with standard ammunition and more than 50 km with rocket-assisted projectiles.