Shares of Hanwha Aerospace (012450.KS) surged more than 10% in premarket trading, between 8 a.m. and 8:50 a.m., as buying interest gathered after the company's K9 self-propelled howitzer cleared the first hurdle in the prototype competition for the U.S. Army's next-generation self-propelled howitzer modernization program.
Hanwha Aerospace shares were trading at 1.257 million won, up 111,000 won, or 9.69%, from the previous session on NextTrade, according to the platform on the 19th. During the session, the stock rose more than 10% to reach 1.28 million won. The gain stood out as the broader premarket was down 3.75% from its reference price.
According to foreign media reports, the U.S. Army has signed a contract with Hanwha Defense USA to supply prototypes for its next-generation self-propelled howitzer program, the Mobile Tactical Cannon (MTC). Hanwha Defense USA will initially supply six K9 prototypes, with an option to supply an additional 12 units. The contract is valued at up to $233 million (about 320 billion won).
The U.S. Army is pursuing the next-generation self-propelled howitzer program to replace its existing towed M777 howitzers and M109A7 self-propelled howitzers. The Army plans to conduct operational testing of the prototypes to evaluate their performance, reliability and supportability in conditions similar to actual combat, and will decide whether to field the next-generation howitzer based on the results.
In addition to Hanwha Defense USA, competitors in the program are said to include Elbit America, Anduril and Oshkosh Defense's SIGMA, the CAESAR line from Leonardo DRS and KNDS, Rheinmetall's RCH 155, and BAE Systems' Archer.
Hanwha Defense USA is building a facility for K9 production and testing in Opelika, Alabama. The K9 is exported to countries including South Korea, Finland, Norway, Poland and Romania, and is operated in markets around the world.
