The Korean defense giant Hanwha is developing a 155mm wheeled howitzer with a record-breaking barrel for export.

This is reported by the Korean edition of Bizhankook.

Three months after losing a British contract for a new self-propelled howitzer, in which Hanwha beat the German RCH 155 mm wheeled howitzer, the South Koreans presented their first wheeled artillery system.

The design of the new self-propelled howitzer is based on proven technologies. It uses the artillery part of the promising K9A2 self-propelled artillery system and the Doosan DST K239L 8×8 armored chassis from the K239 Chunmoo missile system.

The company’s new solution offers a fully automated artillery module adapted for installation on any wheeled chassis of the appropriate tonnage.

The vehicle is to have a crew reduced to 2-3 people and a high rate of fire of 9 rounds per minute, which corresponds to the characteristics of the K9A2 autoloader system.

The main export advantage of the new system should be the maximum range of fire, which can reach 70 kilometers thanks to a barrel with a record length of 58 caliber (9 meters). Currently, no production artillery system is equipped with a gun of this length.

In March of this year, the United States curtailed a similar ERCA project, which developed the XM1299 howitzer with a barrel of similar length. However, due to excessively high barrel wear from full-charge firing, the development was deemed unpromising.

The publication notes that in competition with the aforementioned RCH 155, the Korean self-propelled gun loses in mobility, because unlike the German system, it needs to deploy ground stops to fire. For this reason, the time required for firing is expected to be longer.

The South Korean company is positioning its promising product as an export system that should satisfy customers who need an inexpensive and maneuverable self-propelled howitzer.

Hanwha is currently producing another export-successful tracked howitzer, the K9 Thunder, which is being supplied to Poland, Norway, Estonia, and Finland. In addition, the company recently signed an agreement with Romania to sell 54 SPGs.

One of the main export advantages of Hanwha’s products is the pace of production and the flexibility of the South Korean company, which actively offers localization of its systems in the customer-country.

In particular, in April of this year, Hanwha completed the construction and commissioning of its plant in Australia, which will produce self-propelled howitzers for the country’s Armed Forces.