US Army takes delivery of first Hanwha wheeled howitzer meant to replace its towed M777 guns

The US Army has taken delivery of its first Mobile Tactical Cannon, a 155mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer built by Hanwha Defense USA that is meant to replace the towed M777 howitzers the service has fielded since 2005. Army officials told reporters ahead of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) annual meeting in Washington that the gun arrived less than a year after the service first issued its solicitation.

Brigadier General Robert Mikesh, the Army's portfolio management executive for offensive fires, said the service was keen to begin testing the system and to gather feedback from soldiers. The cannon was shown earlier in October 2026 at an Army Modernization Day event on Capitol Hill, the first of its kind.

The Army announced a prototyping contract with Hanwha in August 2026. Awarded through an Other Transaction Authority agreement, a faster route than a traditional procurement contract, the four-year deal is worth up to nearly 263 million dollars and covers up to 18 systems for rapid prototyping, testing and soldier experimentation, with accelerated delivery of the first six.

The Army has since ordered three more prototypes, according to Mike Smith, Hanwha Defense USA's chief operating officer and president of land systems, who also set out the company's plan to move production of the K9 Mobile Howitzer from South Korea to the United States. With that order, nine of the 18 systems allowed under the deal are now on contract.

Built on the K9

The Mobile Tactical Cannon is based on Hanwha's K9 self-propelled howitzer, which South Korea's military has used since 1999 and which now serves in variants with 10 other countries. Mikesh said the Army had not sought a clean-sheet design but mature technology, opening the competition to companies worldwide on condition that the winner moves production onto US soil within two years. Hanwha is building an integration and test site in Opelika, Alabama.

The range gain is large. The M777 has an effective range of under 24 km, or up to 40 km with the extended-range Excalibur round, while the K9's 52-calibre gun reaches more than 60 km. The Army's fiscal 2027 budget documents also give the cannon a role in a propulsion modernisation project that aims to let 155mm artillery destroy targets out to 70 km.

Tracked guns next

The Army plans to field the wheeled guns first with Stryker brigade combat teams, then with mobile and infantry brigades, and wants a ready version in service by 2031. It is running a separate effort for a tracked howitzer for armoured formations, and its fires acquisition office posted a request for information on 30 September. Smith said Hanwha would offer either its K9A1 or its newer K9A2, which has a fully automated turret.

A spokesperson for the Army's fires programme office told Breaking Defense that the wheeled gun is meant to give more mobility and survivability to units that now rely on towed artillery, while the tracked variant suits armoured units. Together the two programmes are intended to replace both the M777 and the M109A7 self-propelled howitzer. Hanwha has not said how long it would take to deliver tracked guns if selected.