BEIRUT — South Korean defense giant Hanwha has signed an agreement to collaborate with Emirati firm Generation 5 Holding with plans to jointly manufacture K9 155mm self propelled Howitzers in the United Arab Emirates to serve the Middle East market.
“Under the agreement, Generation 5 Holding will support local production and market access for the K9,” Hanwha said in a statement Friday on the sidelines of Eurosatory defense expo in Paris.
The South Korean firm said the agreement is “part of Hanwha Aerospace’s strategy to strengthen its position in the Middle East, where it is pursuing local production, maintenance and technology partnerships as a route to regional customers. In-country manufacture and lifecycle support are intended to build local industrial capability and to provide support closer to where the systems operate.”
K-9 Thunder is a 155 mm self propelled Howitzer, which was contracted by Egypt in 2022 in a deal worth $1.7 billion. Hanwha offered Egypt a coproduction arrangement where subsystems were produced in Egypt’s Factory 200.
More broadly, the announcement comes as global demand for 155 mm artillery is on the rise, especially after the Ukraine conflict showed the necessity of such a capability in modern combat.
According to information provided by the company, Generation 5 Holding is the mother company of Calidus, an Emirati aircraft and armored vehicle developer and manufacturer. Calidus develops its own missile systems, including ALHEDA, a 140 mm missile which is a ground-to-ground missile system that can be mounted on armored vehicles, including light infantry fighting vehicles, and was contracted by the UAE armed forces in February 2025.
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“By combining our strengths in manufacturing and our integrated industrial capabilities, we are well positioned to develop, manufacture, and deliver high-performance Howitzer systems to our customers, in line with our strategy to transfer and localize advanced defense manufacturing technologies,” Generation 5 Holding Managing Director Khalifa Murad Alblooshi said in the statement.
Hanwha Aerospace’s Middle East and North Africa head Il Sung said Middle East is a “priority market for Hanwha Aerospace.”
“Building strong partnerships with local industry is central to how we are growing our presence in the region. By manufacturing and supporting the K9 locally, we aim to strengthen our partners’ defence sovereignty and to offer regional customers a capable artillery system with support close to where it operates,” Sung added in the statement.
