South Korea has announced measures to enhance its defense industry capabilities, which is expected to promote the country's arms exports.

On September 15th, the Defense Acquisition Planning Agency (DAPA) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Trade, Industry, and Energy to develop engines for the K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer locally.

DAPA Director Wang Zhenghong said in a press release, "If we develop the engine for the K9 ourselves, it will pave the way for self-reliance in national defense and also help increaseartilleryThe exit

The agency stated that it will invest approximately $65 million over the next five years to develop a 100 horsepower diesel engine to replace the current German MTU 881 Ka-500 water-cooled diesel engine that powers the K9 howitzer.

The decision is to choose K9 in AustraliaSelf propelled howitzerAs the preferred solution for the first phase of the Land 8116 Protection Mobile Firepower Program, the program aims to purchase 30 self-propelled howitzers and 15 other ammunition supply vehicles.

Once the transaction is completed later next year, Australia will become the seventh country to use K9 vehicles after Türkiye, Poland, Finland, India, Norway and Estonia. According to its manufacturer, Hanwha Defense, there are approximately 1700 K9 units in service worldwide.

However, Germany's arms embargo on certain Middle Eastern countries (including Saudi Arabia) has hindered the export of K9. In March, the German government approved the extension of the arms embargo on Saudi Arabia until the end of this year, marking the third extension of restrictions on arms exports, which was issued at the end of 2018 after the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Western intelligence agencies claim that the Saudi government murdered him, but the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia denies this accusation.

A diplomat who declined to be named told Defense News, "As is well known, negotiations regarding the sale of K9 to other countries are still ongoing, but Germany's arms embargo has been the main obstacle to reaching a dealK9The plan to localize the engine is considered an important step in supporting the country's weapons exports

In addition, DAPA has implemented a policy of piloting export-oriented weapon systems before possible sales, in order to first validate their performance domestically.

DAPA said at a press conference on October 7th, "By operating and evaluating the latest weapon systems designed for export, the Army will be able to provide valuable feedback to manufacturers.

The agency also stated that through these efforts, the opportunity to export these weapons will increase when their performance can be demonstrated and certified to potential customers.

The beneficiaries of this project are the Ministry of National Defense of Hanhua, Kovico Corporation, and Dasan Machinery Company. According to the plan, the South Korean military will receive the six wheel drive armored personnel carrier "Tigong" from Hanhua; Transporting four-wheel drive armored personnel carriers from Kovico; Transport 12 types of small arms from the mountains.

After the trial operation and evaluation of these weapon systems, certification certificates will be issued based on confirmed records that can be provided to potential customer countries, "the agency said

TIGON is an armored personnel carrier designed for export, which made its debut at the arms exhibition held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2018. As the 'black fox' exporting to IndonesiaArmored carAs the successor, Tigon can be equipped with four different types of weapon equipment, including 12.7mm machine guns, as well as three remote-controlled weapon stations equipped with 12.7mm machine guns, 30mm automatic guns, and 90mm machine guns.

This 21 ton car can carry two crew members in the front and nine soldiers in the rear compartment. It has a top speed of 100 kilometers per hour on the highway and 8 kilometers per hour in water, with a cruising range of 800 kilometers.