US Army gets first mobile cannon to replace M777 howitzer, officials say

The U.S. Army has taken delivery of its first Korean-made mobile tactical cannon less than a year after first issuing a solicitation, service officials said Thursday.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting , the Army’s leader for offensive fires said that the mobile tactical cannon, made by Hanwha Defense USA , was on display at a first-of-its-kind “Army Modernization Day” held on Capitol Hill earlier this month.

“We’re excited to have that and get ready to test it,” said Brig. Gen. Robert J. “RJ” Mikesh Jr., portfolio management executive for offensive fires. “And get that soldier feedback, that we think is so important.”

The Army in August announced it had entered a prototyping contract with Hanwha for the Mobile Tactical Cannon, a 155mm self-propelled howitzer intended to replace the legacy M777 155mm howitzers that have been in service since 2005.

The four-year contract, worth up to nearly $263 million, covers procurement of up to 18 of the systems for “rapid prototyping, testing, and Soldier experimentation,” the Army said in August. It calls for “accelerated delivery” of the first six system prototypes and allows the Army to execute options for up to a dozen more.

While the service hadn’t released full details about the testing regimen, officials said a series of operational experiments would take place to ensure the systems could perform reliably in “realistic combat conditions.”

The Mobile Tactical Cannon, which was contracted through an Other Transaction Authority agreement, is based on Hanwha’s K9 mobile howitzers, which have been employed by the South Korean military since 1999 and now have variants operating in 10 other countries, making up more than half of all self-propelled howitzers in service around the world.

The company announced at the time of the contract award that it was building an integration and test site in Opelika, Alabama, to develop and roll out the cannons.

“What enabled that was this close partnership under the PAE construct and trying new and novel ways of contracting,” Mikesh said Thursday. “In this case, we were not going after a clean-sheet design; we were looking for mature and available technologies. We opened our aperture for companies around the world, knowing that they’d have to onshore production within two years . That howitzer is now on contract.”

The Army has said in budget solicitations that its fielding effort for the new self-propelled howitzers will focus initially on Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, followed by Mobile and Infantry Brigade Combat Teams. And while the solicitation that received the Hanwha contract is for a wheeled self-propelled howitzer, the Army in late August published a new solicitation for a tracked variant of the Mobile Tactical Cannon. Hanwha officials told Breaking Defense they’re seeking to fill that requirement as well.

Army budget request documents for fiscal 2027 illuminate an additional testing role for the Mobile Tactical Cannon: It will facilitate work in the Army’s 155mm Artillery Propulsion Modernization project, designed to improve range and performance by pursuing novel propulsion technologies and advancements in “propelling charge, modular charge, ignition systems, propellant, and packaging solutions.”

“Solutions will be integrated into a system of systems capability to ensure interoperability, closing fires capability gaps to destroy or neutralize artillery targets out to 70 kilometers,” the document states.

The M777 has an effective range of under 24 kilometers, or about 15 miles, and up to 40 kilometers, or 25 miles, with the extended-range Excalibur round. The K9, a 52-caliber system, has a range of more than 60 kilometers, or about 37 miles.

Army leaders have said they want to field a ready version of the Mobile Tactical Cannon by 2031.

美国陆军官员周四表示，在首次发出招标不到一年后，美国陆军已接收了首门韩国制造的移动战术火炮。

在美军协会年会召开前夕，陆军进攻火力负责人向记者表示，由韩华防务美国公司制造的移动战术火炮在本月初于国会山举行的首届“陆军现代化日”活动上展出。

“我们很高兴能拥有这项技术，并准备进行测试，”进攻火力项目组合管理主管罗伯特·J·“RJ”·米克什准将说，“同时，我们也很需要士兵的反馈，我们认为这非常重要。”

陆军在 8 月份宣布，已与韩华公司签订移动战术火炮原型合同，这是一种 155 毫米自行榴弹炮，旨在取代自 2005 年以来一直在服役的老式 M777 155 毫米榴弹炮。

这份为期四年、价值高达近2.63亿美元的合同涵盖采购至多18套系统，用于“快速原型制作、测试和士兵试验”，陆军在8月份表示。合同要求“加速交付”前六个系统原型，并允许陆军选择增购至多12套。

虽然军方尚未公布测试方案的全部细节，但官员表示将进行一系列操作试验，以确保这些系统能够在“真实的战斗条件下”可靠地运行。

这款通过其他交易授权协议签订合同的移动战术火炮，以韩华K9移动榴弹炮为基础。韩华K9移动榴弹炮自1999年以来一直被韩国军队使用，现在其衍生型号已在其他10个国家服役，占全球现役自行榴弹炮总数的一半以上。

该公司在授予合同时宣布，它正在阿拉巴马州奥佩利卡建造一个集成和测试基地，以开发和推广这些大炮。

“促成此事的关键在于PAE架构下的紧密合作，以及尝试新的合同签订方式，”米凯什周四表示。“在这种情况下，我们并非追求全新设计，而是寻找成熟且可用的技术。我们向全球各地的公司敞开大门，因为我们知道他们必须在两年内完成国内生产。现在，这门榴弹炮已经签订了合同。”

陆军在预算招标文件中表示，新型自行榴弹炮的部署工作将首先集中于“斯特赖克”旅级战斗队，随后是机动旅级战斗队和步兵旅级战斗队。虽然韩华公司中标的是一款轮式自行榴弹炮，但陆军在8月下旬发布了一份新的招标文件，寻求履带式移动战术火炮。韩华公司官员告诉《防务新闻》，他们也在争取满足这一需求。

2027 财年陆军预算申请文件揭示了移动战术火炮的另一项测试作用：它将促进陆军 155 毫米火炮推进现代化项目的工作，该项目旨在通过追求新型推进技术和“推进装药、模块化装药、点火系统、推进剂和包装解决方案”方面的进步来提高射程和性能。

文件指出：“解决方案将整合到系统能力中，以确保互操作性，弥合火力能力差距，摧毁或压制70公里外的炮兵目标。”

M777的有效射程不到24公里（约15英里），使用远程“神剑”（Excalibur）弹药时可达40公里（约25英里）。K9是一款52口径的火炮系统，射程超过60公里（约37英里）。

陆军领导人表示，他们希望在 2031 年前部署一款可立即投入使用的移动战术火炮。