K9 Thunder By Samsung: A Closer Look At South Korea's Artillery Power

Samsung is a name well-known to consumers from all corners of the world, as the South Korean manufacturer has become one of the biggest players on the global electronics scene. So much so that we'd wager there are not many folks in the U.S. or abroad who've never had a Samsung-branded device of some sort in their possession, be it a mobile phone like the SlashGear-approved Galaxy S24 or something larger like the company's highly rated televisions or its internationally manufactured appliances.

But even as well known as the Samsung name is in the U.S. and places beyond, it's a safe enough bet that even those who use the company's products on a daily basis have no idea that its reach goes far beyond the realm of consumer electronics. In fact, at one time, Samsung also held ties to the South Korean military. The company even helped to develop a tracked vehicle outfitted with a Howitzer that's still being used for combat today.

To be clear, Samsung did not develop the K9 Thunder Howitzer entirely on its own, as the battle-ready vehicle was the result of a collaboration between the South Korean government and several major South Korean companies. Still, the heavy artillery vehicle has been in use for more than two decades now, and with new models currently being developed, some version of the Samsung-backed K9 will be in use for many years to come. Here are a few things you might find interesting about Samsung's renowned artillery offering.

You might be wondering how a global electronics giant like Samsung got into the defense game. The short answer is that the K9 Thunder Howitzer was not developed under the same shingle as Samsung's consumer electronics products. Rather, the Howitzer was developed through Samsung's security division, which came into existence as Samsung Precision in 1977 but later rebranded to Samsung Techwin. It seems Samsung is no longer a major presence in the South Korean defense game, with Hanwha Group acquiring the division in 2015, which continues to manufacture the K9 Howitzer to this day. 

Long before that sale, Samsung Techwin was indeed one of the key players in helping to bring the K9 Thunder Howitzer to life, and the fact that it's still being made is a clear reflection of the mobile artillery's quality design. If you've seen pictures of the K9, you know it is fairly compact in design and boasts a massive canon on the front end. That canon is 155mm in size and fires 52 caliber shells, making the K9 as fierce a foe on the battlefield as you're likely to find in the landscape of modern warfare.

As you might expect from any item developed under the Samsung shingle, the tracked vehicle's armament is relatively advanced and features an automatic loading system that takes one of 48 projectiles from a storage area and places them into an ammunition tray for ramming. When fired, they can hit a target approximately 40km away (almost 25miles). In addition to the 155mm armament, a single 12.7 mm M2 heavy machine gun is mounted on the right side roof turret.

With Samsung outfitting the K9 Thunder Howitzer with some seriously heavy artillery, it is, perhaps, worth noting that the battlefield-ready vehicles are also designed to withstand significant fire from enemies as well. In fact, the tracked vehicle's all-welded, 19mm steel frame is designed to protect its 5-person crew from a myriad of small arms and artillery.

Perhaps more important than being able to protect its crew from enemy fire, the K9 is also designed to help them engage and retreat quickly, with the self-propelled Howitzer boasting a maximum speed of 67km/h, or almost 42 miles per hour. The vehicle is powered by a German engine, with the MTU MT 881 Ka-500 diesel and accompanying Allison ATDX1100-5A3 transmission providing upwards of 1,000 horsepower. When coupled with the vehicle's tracked chassis, the K9 possesses maneuverability that is every bit as impressive as its speed.

The development cycle of Samsung's popular tracked artillery vehicle began in 1989. Prototypes were tested in 1996, with Samsung Aerospace Industries (SSA) officially earning the government contract in 1998 and delivering the first K9s a year later. As you might expect for an artillery vehicle as advanced as the Samsung-backed K9 Howitzer, the offering comes with a pretty big price tag. Exact prices, understandably, vary depending on deals struck with prospective buyers and modifications, but in 2024, Romania agreed to purchase 54 K9 Howitzers from South Korea at a cost of $920 million. A quick breakdown of that deal puts the per-unit cost of Samsung's self-propelled K9 Thunder Howitzer at roughly $17 million.