The Minister of Defense of Finland, Jussi Ninisto, reported that on February 8, 2018, the first consignment of South Korean 155 mm / 52 self-propelled howitzers K9 Thunder (Finnish Moukari) arrived in the Finnish port of Vuosaari (Helsinki).
T he contract with the South Korean state foreign trade association KOTRA for the purchase of 48 units of 155-mm / 52 self-propelled howitzers K9 Thunder from the presence of the South Korean army was concluded by the Ministry of Defense of Finland in February 2017. The cost of the contract is 146 million euros, including the cost of training, spare parts and service support. Supplies must be made to the Ministry of Defense of Finland from 2017 to 2024. The contract includes an option to purchase an additional number of K9 howitzers.
The K9 howitzers should replace the obsolete Soviet 122mm self-propelled howitzers 2C1 “Gvozdika” (Finnish designation 122 PSH 74) in the Finnish Defense Forces. Now the Finnish army has 72 ACS 2S1, acquired in 1992 from the presence of the army of the former GDR.
155-mm / 52 self-propelled howitzer K9 Thunder was developed and produced by the South Korean association Samsung Techwin (now Hanwha Techwin). In addition to Finland, during 2017, contracts for the acquisition of self-propelled artillery mount K9 in South Korea were also concluded by Estonia (12 units) and Norway (24 with an option for another 24), in addition, a contract for the purchase of 100 self-propelled artillery mounts K9 with the assembly in India was concluded by the Indian Ministry of Defense. The K9 chassis is also purchased by Poland for the manufacture of 155-mm / 52 Krab self-propelled howitzer with its usage.
Source: https://vpk.name/news/206331_finlyandiya_poluchila_pervyie_yuzhnokoreiskie_samohodnyie_gaubicyi_k9.html
