Poland receives a new batch of K9 self-propelled howitzers

A new batch of K9A1 Thunder 155mm self-propelled artillery systems has been delivered to Poland.

This was reported on November 13 by the General Staff of the Polish Army which published the photos of the equipment.

The 12 self-propelled artillery systems batch was brought to the Polish commercial port of Gdynia.

The self-propelled artillery systems are being delivered to Poland under the first execution contract signed in August 2022 for 212 K9A1 Thunder.

It is part of a larger framework agreement between the Polish Armaments Agency and South Korean defense company Hanwha Defense, signed in July of the same year.

The self-propelled artillery system will be delivered from 2022 to 2026 with further modernization to the K9PL variant developed by experts from the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) and Hanwha Defense.

About 460 more artillery systems are planned to be built in Poland at the new facility immediately in the K9PL variant, starting in 2026.

The contract also includes the K10 ARV and K11 FDCV support vehicles, which provide automated replenishment of the ammunition of the self-propelled artillery system.

The main difference between the Polish vehicles will be the C2 integrated control and positioning system and the TOPAZ automatic fire control kit, designed to work with Polish command vehicles.

As of the end of October, the Polish military has already received 108 such self-propelled artillery systems. The previous transfer of 12 self-propelled artillery systems took place on October 7.

This number of artillery systems should eventually reduce the shortage of self-propelled artillery systems in the Polish army, which arose after the transfer of artillery to Ukraine as part of military assistance.

This October, the Polish military, for the first time, engaged the Korean K9A1 Thunder self-propelled artillery systems in training abroad. They were brought to the Estonian training ground for the AKKTULI-24 exercise.