According to the MoD, the contract includes maintenance, spares, training, and the option to procure additional weapons. Finland announced that it was in negotiations with South Korea for the K9s in July 2016, citing the weapon’s price and adaptability with their conscription-based military.
The acquisition will also allow Helsinki to retire the bulk of its aging Soviet-era artillery systems.
IHS Jane’s reports that the Finnish Defense Forces (FDF) have conducted trials with the weapons beginning at the end of 2016. For staff training to commence, the howitzers are scheduled to be delivered this year, with conscripts expected to begin training on the weapon in 2019.
Deliveries are set to compete in 2024, with 48 systems in total.
The FDF currently operates the self-propelled 152 mm 2S5 Giatsint-S, the self-propelled 122 mm 2S1 Gvozdika, the towed 122 mm D-30, and the towed 130 mm M-46. Current artillery pieces deployed by the forces, like the towed 155 mm 155 GH 52 APU, will be supplemented by the K9s.
Estonia plans to procure 12 South Korean howitzers of their own.
