[Military Story] The Next Export of K-Defense: Romania and Latvia

Preparing to Replace Aging Armored Vehicles in Latvia and Others
Infantry Fighting Vehicle K21 Emerges as Leading Candidate

Hanwha Aerospace is anticipating major export contract announcements from the beginning of the year. Latvia, one of the Baltic states, is showing interest in the infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) K-21, while Romania is eyeing the K9 self-propelled howitzer.

Infantry Fighting Vehicle K21 undergoing testing at Hanwha Aerospace Ground Test Site (Photo by Hanwha Aerospace)

Latvia, which shares borders with Russia and Belarus, is preparing for a rapidly changing security environment by reintroducing mandatory military service starting this year. Since last year, it has also been preparing a project to replace its aging armored vehicles. The candidate models include Hanwha Aerospace’s K-21, the ‘ASCOD’ jointly developed by Austria and Spain, and Turkey’s ‘Tulpar’. Hanwha Aerospace underwent evaluations on mobility, firepower, and other aspects locally for three weeks starting in October last year. It is reported to have received the highest scores. The K-21 has been proven in performance as it has been deployed in the South Korean military. In terms of firepower, the K-21 is equipped with a 40mm main gun, whereas other countries’ products use 30mm main guns, indicating weaker firepower. The price is also 30-40% cheaper, making it the likely choice.

‘Redback,’ which was selected as the preferred bidder for Australia’s military modernization project ‘Land 400’ Phase 3 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) procurement in July last year, is expected to sign the main contract early this year. The scale of Redback armored vehicles to be introduced by Australia is 129 units. This project aims to replace the US-made M113 armored vehicles introduced in the 1960s by the Australian Army. Once the final contract is signed, Redback will begin mass production from 2026 and will be sequentially deployed to the Australian Army starting in the second half of 2027.

Infantry Fighting Vehicle K21 Evaluated Locally in Latvia

Redback was a final candidate along with Germany’s Rheinmetall ‘Lynx’ in 2019. After various twists and turns, including project scale reductions, it was selected as the preferred bidder. Redback was developed based on the K-21 infantry fighting vehicle, which is the mainstay of the army, tailored to meet the performance levels required by the Australian Army for its IFV project. This carries significant symbolic value.

To meet the Australian Army’s requirements, cooperation was established with leading defense companies from Australia, Israel, and the United States. It is equipped with △special armor design and reinforced structure △specially designed blast shock mitigation devices △state-of-the-art sensors △‘Iron Vision,’ which monitors 360 degrees around the vehicle exterior △and ‘Iron Fist,’ which detects and intercepts enemy anti-tank missiles in advance.

Romania Likely to Consider K-9 Self-Propelled Howitzer for New Howitzer Project

Romania’s new self-propelled howitzer procurement project is also expected to decide the contractor soon. The K9 self-propelled howitzer was selected as a qualified bidder along with the PzH2000 (Germany’s KMW) and the T-155 Firtina (Turkey’s MKEK) at the end of last year. Hanwha Aerospace believes there is a high possibility that the K9 will be selected as the model for Romania’s howitzer procurement project. The K9 is operated in nine countries worldwide, including South Korea, and holds a majority market share in the self-propelled howitzer export market.

Germany’s PzH2000 does not differ significantly in performance from the K9, but its price and maintenance costs are known to be more than twice those of the K9. Turkey’s T-155 Firtina has not yet been exported or operated overseas. Romania plans to sign the final contract immediately without separate negotiations once the contractor is selected for the howitzer project.