The U.S. Army announced Tuesday that it has selected Hanwha Defense USA to provide prototypes for its new Mobile Tactical Cannon. The company is a subsidiary of South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace, the largest defense firm in that country. The agreement represents the firm's first major entry into the U.S. weapons market for artillery modernization.
The contract terms require Hanwha to deliver six mobile systems initially. The U.S. Army maintains an option to order an additional 12 units, bringing the total potential value of the deal to $262.9 million. Hanwha Aerospace has previously exported ground systems, such as the K9 self-propelled howitzer, to Turkey, Norway, and Australia.
Following the announcement on Tuesday, shares of Hanwha Aerospace rose by 9.5% during early trading on Wednesday. This increase occurred despite a 6.7% decline in the broader KOSPI, South Korea's benchmark stock index. The U.S. Army stated that the prototypes will undergo testing by soldiers to determine the system's long-term viability for the force.
For the soldiers operating these weapons, the change will be observed in the day-to-day handling of artillery during training and deployments. The M777 is a legacy towed system, and its replacement with a mobile platform would alter how crews position, fire, and relocate their equipment on the battlefield. The timing of this transition depends on the outcomes of the upcoming soldier testing phase; the U.S. Army has not yet provided specific dates for when the evaluation will conclude or when the first units might receive the fielded equipment.
The deal also sets a precedent for the U.S. defense market by integrating a major South Korean manufacturer into the domestic modernization program. This could influence future procurement policies by expanding the base of international suppliers for critical ground combat systems. What happens next is the delivery of the first six prototypes by Hanwha, followed by an evaluation period by the U.S. Army to determine if the system meets requirements for full-scale fielding and the replacement of existing M777 inventory.