On January 14, 2023, the State Defense Investment Center of the Ministry of Defense of Estonia (Riigi Kaitseinvesteeringute Keskus - RKIK) signed an additional contract with the South Korean company Hanwha Techwin (as part of the Hanwha Group) worth about 36 million euros for the purchase of 12 more self-propelled howitzers K9 Thunder 155-mm/52 caliber, in addition to the previously ordered 24. Thus, the total number of K9 self-propelled howitzers purchased by Estonia has reached 36. All of them come from the presence of the South Korean ground forces, with repairs by their manufacturer Hanwha Group.
South Korean 155 mm/52 self-propelled howitzer K9 Thunder (Kõu) of the Estonian Army (c) Estonian Armed ForcesRecall that in June 2018, RKIK signed with the South Korean state foreign trade association KOTRA and the Hanwha Land Systems association (now Hanwha Defense - the defense division of the Hanwha Group) the first contract worth 46 million euros for the purchase of 12 self-propelled 155 mm/52 K9 Thunder howitzers from the South Korean army, with an option for another 12 systems.
In Estonia, these self-propelled guns received the designation K9EST Kõu. All purchased self-propelled guns are 10-12 years old and undergo major repairs before being shipped to Estonia.
In August 2020, Estonia partially exercised the option by concluding a contract agreement for the supply of six more K9 self-propelled howitzers, as well as ammunition and additional equipment, totaling 37 million euros. In August 2021, RKIK signed a contract worth 4.6 million euros with Hanwha Defense and the Estonian company Go Craft for the completion of 24 K9EST Kõu systems, thereby marking the previously undisclosed implementation of the remaining part of the option for six guns. Now there was an order for another 12 K9 self-propelled guns.
The first two purchased K9 self-propelled guns were delivered to Estonia at the end of August 2020, and by the end of 2022 Estonia received 18 systems. Six more options are to be delivered in 2023. The 18 self-propelled guns received were transferred to the artillery division of the 1st Infantry Brigade of the Estonian Army. Previously, this division, stationed in Tapa, was equipped with 155-mm/39 towed FN-70 howitzers purchased from Germany and Soviet 122-mm towed D-30 howitzers received from Finland, but in 2022 most of the old towed equipment of the division was transferred by Estonia to Ukraine.
"Today's war in Ukraine clearly shows how important the means of firing from closed positions are. In light of the lessons learned in Ukraine, we have made an operational decision to equip both infantry brigades with additional K9 Kõu self-propelled howitzers and bring Estonian firing capabilities from closed positions to a whole new level," Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said at the signing of the contract for the purchase of 12 additional K9 self-propelled guns on January 14.
Thus, according to the K9 ACS division, both existing infantry brigades of the Estonian army (1st and 2nd) will receive. When signing the contract, it was stated that the last of the additional 12 systems purchased should arrive in 2026, and the representative of RKIK said that "we are working to ensure that deliveries take place earlier, and perhaps we will be able to receive this self-propelled artillery by 2026."