Hanwha Defense has announced plans to establish a regional hub in Romania to support the production, sustainment, and repair of the country’s future K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers.
The initiative follows the South Korean company’s acceptance of a 2024 contract to manufacture 54 K9 vehicles and 36 K10 ammunition resupply variants for Bucharest’s armed forces.
Pending government approval, the facility will be built in Dâmbovița County over two years, beginning in the first quarter of 2026. The project will be carried out in collaboration with defense contractors such as Iveco and Pro Optica.
The plant’s expected timeline aligns with the delivery of Romania’s first batch of 18 K9 and 12 K10 platforms directly from South Korea.
Once operational, the factory is expected to create approximately 2,000 jobs in the NATO country.
In addition to K9s and K10s, the hub will support work on other Hanwha products procured by Romania’s allies.
“Our priority is the delivery of the K9 and K10 … but we already have several such vehicles in NATO and Europe, so the idea is to be able to produce components, to be able to do maintenance and repairs here in Romania,” Hanwha Global Defense CEO Michael Coulter said during a meeting with Romanian reporters.
“I think this is something that can be achieved fairly soon.”
Sixth NATO Operator
Romania’s state news agency Agerpres reported that Hanwha’s K9 commitment to the country will be fulfilled in three batches.
As the program progresses, manufacturing will gradually shift to Romania, along with “extensive involvement from local suppliers.”
The arrival of the howitzers will make Romania the 10th country to operate the 155-millimeter weapon system and the sixth NATO member to adopt the capability.
Additionally, Romania will become the third global operator of the K10 support vehicles.