Aju Business Daily

SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Aju News) -- South Korea's home-made K-9 self-propelled howitzer beat European weapons to win a package deal worth 227 million US dollars from Norway, becoming the country's best-selling ground weapon this year.

Hanwha Land Systems, formerly known as Hanwha Techwin, said Thursday that it would export 24 K-9s and six K-10 armored vehicles for ammunition resupply to Norway's defense ministry by 2020 under a deal worth 245.2 billion won ($227 million).

It would be Hanwha's first export of K-10s capable of carrying some 104 shells. 

K-9, which entered service in 1999,  is compatible with standard NATO 155-mm ammunition and has a range of more than 30 kilometers (18 miles).  The howitzer has been widely used by South Korean troops and exported to Turkey and Poland. This year, Hanwha forged deals to sell 48 K-9 units to Finland and 100 units to India.

With an order from Norway, the total amount of K-9 sales abroad would reach $720 million this year. Since 2001, Hanwha has exported about 500 K-9s worth $1.45 billion.

The company hopes to secure a K-9 order from Estonia.