Norway, which previously took delivery of 28 K9s and 14 KIO ammunition resupply vehicles to keep their barrels fed with 155mm shells, is buying 24 new K9. This is a repeat purchase for Norway of self-propelled howitzers.
Norway nearly doubles its K9 howitzer fleet for around $534 million. “We are facing a serious security situation. We are therefore requesting the Storting [Parliament] to approve significant investments in various parts of the Armed Forces to strengthen Norway’s defense capability […],” Minister of Defence Tore O. Sandvik said in a statement.
As Europe has set about rearming, the K9 has done excellent business for the South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace. Other customers include Estonia, Finland, Poland, and Romania.
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Related: In Case of Crisis or War in the Nordics
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The 155 mm howitzers in Norway will equip a new artillery battalion within the planned Finnmark brigade being set up to bolster Norway’s defenses in the high north, according to a government proposal. The purchase plan is part of a proposed 17 billion kroner budget that also includes additional sea mine-clearing capability, new military trucks, and funding for facilities.
In addition to the new howitzers, the brigade will get anti-aircraft weapons, a light infantry battalion, an engineer company, an intelligence company, and a stronger command.
There is little doubt about the K9’s purpose for Norway: to deter Russia from getting any funny ideas about the High North land border that the two countries share.
In October of last year, the Norwegian government proposed increasing the country’s 2025 defense budget by 19.2 billion kroner to 110.1 billion kroner. The budget for the additional howitzers includes the guns as well as spare parts, according to the spending proposal.
“We plan to develop a force that will be in Finnmark, in times of peace, crisis, and war. It will be a standing army force,” Head of the Norwegian Army, Major General Lars Lervik, told a local audience in Kirkenes in January 2025.
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Related: Finland’s Security Strategy in Response to the Russia-Ukraine War
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The K9 has tremendous mobility and has already proven itself in cold conditions; India’s army has deployed them in the freezing heights of Ladakh on the Chinese border. And they work where it counts too: Ukraine has used Polish-supplied Krab howitzers, which feature a K9 chassis and a 52-calibre gun made by BAE Systems.
Repeat Purchase for Norway of Self-Propelled Howitzers, reported by Tor Kjolberg.
Feature image (top) © Wikipedia.