South Korean - K9 Thunder Self Propelled 155 mm Howitzer

 K9 Thunder - South Korean Self Propelled 155 mm Howitzer

The K9 Thunder is a South Korean self-propelled 155 mm howitzer designed and developed by the Agency for Defense Development and Samsung Aerospace Industries for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, and is now manufactured by Hanwha Defense.The turret servo electrohydraulic system is a derive from that of K1 MBT. Automatic fire control system enabled rapid aiming, faster shooting, and improvement to accuracy. Originally, Air-Log hydropneumatic suspension, which was being used for British AS-90, was chosen for test for license produce, but failed to absorb shock from much bigger 52 caliber gun.

Later, South Korea developed domestic hydropneumatic suspension and sold to Britain.K9 is an indigenous system of an all-welded steel armour construction which is rated to withstand 14.5 mm armour piercing rounds, 152 mm shell fragments, and anti-personnel mines.K9 Thunder give protection to the internal crew and onboard equipment against 155mm shell fragments, 14.5mm armor piercing shells and anti-personnel mines.In NBC warfare situations, survivability is guaranteed with the on-board air purification system and gas masks for the crew. The K9A1 is a variant of the K9 self-propelled howitzer but improved to operate automatic fire control units better at night. Additional improvements have been made to the driver night vision periscopes and auxiliary power units. The K9A1 self-propelled howitzer boasts a long shooting range, high velocity firing, and quick day/night displacement for firing support and direct engagement. It also has excellent maneuverability and ability to concentrate its firepower on select targets. The K9 Thunder is supplemented by a K10 automatic ammunition re-supply vehicle (ARV) built on the K9 platform. Each K10 supports two K9 guns and can carry 104 rounds of ammunition. Automatic fire control system Operating system improvements: Text-based DOS system to Graphical Windows system, digital map and electronic manual, and more.Interoperability and expandability: Interoperate with the electronic time data loader and enable extended range ammunition firingPositioning device Added Inertial Navigation System (INS) + GPS SystemPilot night periscope : Improved night-time periscope: using Uncooled thermal type method instead of Stray light amplification method Auxiliary power unit 8 kW or higher engineProduction Designer Agency for Defense DevelopmentSamsung Aerospace Industries Designed 1989–1998 Manufacturer : - Samsung Aerospace Industries (1999-2000) - Samsung Techwin (2000-2015) - Hanwha Techwin (2015-2017) - Hanwha Land Systems (2017-2019) - Hanwha Defense (current) - Larsen and Toubro (Current) Produced : - K9: 1999–2017 - K9A1: 2018–presentNo. built : 1,700Variants K10 ARVAHS KrabT-155 Firtina Specifications : - Mass : 47 tonnes - Length ; 12 m - Width ; 3.4 m - Height ; 2.73 m - Crew ; 5 (Commander, Driver, Gunner, 2 Loaders) Maximum firing range : - 18 km (M107, HE) - 30 km (M549A1, HE-RAP) - 36 km (K310, BB/DP-ICM) - 40 km (K307, BB/HE) - 52 km (K315, HE-RAP) - 100+ km (GGAM, in development) Main armament :- Hyundai WIA CN98 155 mm 52 caliber Secondary armament :- 12.7 mm (.50 caliber) K6 HMG Engine :MTU Friedrichshafen MT 881 Ka-500 8-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine 1000 hp - Power/weight : 21 hp/ton - Transmission : S&T Dynamics X1100-5A3 - Suspension : hydropneumatic Operational range : 480 km Maximum speed : 67 km/h

South Korea - K9 155mm SP

 Source: US Military System

South Korea designed the K9 to operate on the rugged mountains of the demilitarized zone with North Korea, and accordingly gave it advanced hydropneumatics suspension to overcome the rocky terrain. Despite weighing more than the U.S.-built M109 Paladin, which has been in widespread use across the globe since the 1960s, the K9 is faster (at forty-one miles per hour), has a higher power-to-weight ratio thanks to its thousand-horsepower engine, and has a nearly 40 percent greater operational range of three hundred miles before requiring refuelling. While the gun isn’t stable enough to be fired on the move, it can be deployed for firing in just one minute.

South Korea - K136 Kooryong

 Source: WarLeaks - Military Blog

The K136 Kooryong is a South Korean rocket artillery system that was deployed in 1986. The multiple rocket launcher has 36 tubes and fires 130mm (K30, 131mm (K33) rockets. Payload is conventional High explosive and pre-fragmented HE, containing 16 000 steel balls at a range of 22 or 30 km. Launcher is carried on a KM809A1 6x6 truck. About 150 units were built.