The Finnish Ministry of Defense announced that on April 9, 2026, it signed an intergovernmental contract with the South Korean state foreign trade agency KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) for the purchase of 112 more K9 Thunder 155 mm/52 self-propelled howitzers for the Finnish armed forces from the South Korean army. The total value of the contract is approximately 546.8 million euros, including supply of appropriate spare parts and special tools and equipment.
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| 155 mm/52 self-propelled howitzer K9 Thunder (155 PSH K9 FIN Moukari) of the Finnish Army (c) Joel. |
| Source: Maisalmi / www.talouselama.fi |
Thus, the total number of 155 mm/52 K9 self-propelled howitzers that Finland will receive will be increased to 208 units. Finland had previously acquired 96 K9 self-propelled guns from the South Korean Army, which were received from 2017 to 2024.
In February 2017, the Finnish Ministry of Defense signed the first contract with KOTRA for the purchase of 48 K9 self-propelled howitzers from the South Korean Army in the amount of 146 million euros, including the cost of training, spare parts and service support.
The contract included an option to purchase an additional 48 K9 howitzers, and this option was implemented in two stages - in October 2021, the Finnish side signed an agreement to purchase 10 additional self-propelled guns worth 30 million euros, and in November 2022, an agreement to purchase 38 more self-propelled guns worth 134.4 million euros.
The first batch of four purchased K9 self-propelled guns under the 2017 contract arrived in Finland in February 2018, and the first combat-ready battery of these systems was formed by the end of 2020 as part of the Finnish Army's armored brigade in Parola. Finnish K9 self-propelled guns are equipped with ICS (Integrated Combat System) automated control systems manufactured by the Norwegian Kongsberg group.
The first 96 purchased K9 howitzers (which received the Finnish designation 155 PSH K9 FIN and the name Moukari - throwing hammer) replaced the obsolete Soviet 122 mm 2C1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers (Finnish designation 122 PSH 74) in the Finnish Defense Forces, which were 72 units purchased in 1992 from the army of the former GDR. Most of the 2C1 self-propelled guns written off during the replacement with K9 were apparently transferred by Finland to Ukraine.
The signing by the Ministry of Defense of Finland of an intergovernmental contract with the South Korean state foreign trade agency KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) for the purchase of additional 112 self-propelled howitzers K9 Thunder 155 mm/52 caliber for the Finnish armed Forces from the presence of the South Korean army. Helsinki, 04/09/2026 (c) Ministry of Defense of Finland
