Vojska je prihvatila svoj prvi Mobilni Taktički Haubični Top, sada nazvan XM1776, manje od godinu dana nakon što je zatražila ponude od industrije. Program zahteva da proizvodnja bude prebačena u Sjedinjene Države u roku od dve godine, a kompanija nije saopštila koji delovi će ostati u Južnoj Koreji.
The Army has taken delivery of its first Mobile Tactical Cannon, a wheeled 155 mm howitzer meant to replace the towed M777 in select formations, service officials said Oct. 8. Hanwha Aerospace built the prototype at its plant in Changwon, South Korea, and flew it to the United States on Sept. 24, the company said. The Army unveiled its designation, XM1776, at the Association of the United States Army annual meeting in Washington this week.
Vojska je primila svoj prvi Mobilni Taktički Haubični Top, točkovane haubice kalibra 155 mm koja treba da zamenim vučenu M777 u odabranim formacijama, saopštili su zvaničnici službe 8. oktobra. Hanwha Aerospace je izgradila prototip u fabrici u Čangvonu, Južna Koreja, i prevezla ga avionom u Sjedinjene Države 24. septembra, saopštila je kompanija. Vojska je ovu oznaku XM1776 otkrila na godišnjem sastanku Udruženja američke vojske (AUSA) u Vašingtonu ovog vikenda.
The next prototypes will take the same route. Todd Mueller, Hanwha Defense USA’s executive director for fires capture programs, said in August that they will be built in South Korea and sent to a new site in Opelika, Alabama, for final integration. That arrangement put a self-propelled howitzer in Army hands less than a year after the solicitation went out. It does not settle where replacement parts come from once the guns are in the field.
Sledeći prototipi će proći isti put. Todd Mueller, izvršni direktor Hanwha Defense USA za programe za hvatanje vatrenog dejstva, rekao je u avgustu da će biti proizvedeni u Južnoj Koreji i poslati na novo mesto u Opeliki, Alabama, radi završne integracije. Taj aranžman je stavio samohodnu haubicu u ruke vojske za manje od godinu dana od raspisivanja poziva. To ne rešava odakle će dolaziti zamenski delovi kada oružje bude u upotrebi.
Production is supposed to move. The Army required bidders to bring it onshore within two years. Hanwha says some work will stay in Korea and has not said which. That answer will determine whether spare parts for the M777’s replacement have to cross the Pacific in wartime.
Proizvodnja treba da se preseli. Vojska je zahtevala od ponuđača da dovedu proizvodnju na domaće tlo u roku od dve godine. Hanwha kaže da će deo posla ostati u Koreji i da nije rekao koji. Taj odgovor će odrediti da li će rezervni delovi za zamenu M777 morati da prelaze Pacifik u ratu.
Šta je stiglo
The K9 Mobile Howitzer, Hanwha’s name for the system, mounts what the company calls a minimally modified turret from its tracked K9A2 on a Czech-built Tatra 8×8 truck. Jason Pak, Hanwha Defense USA’s senior director for business development in land systems, said in August that the design is “vehicle agnostic.” He said the long-term chassis will be worked out with the Army. The gun is the 52-caliber CN98 made by Hyundai WIA, the same cannon used on the tracked K9.
Haubica K9 Mobile, kako imenuje sistem Hanwha, ugrađuje kupolu minimalno modifikovanu sa svog gusenog K9A2 na češki brendirani kamion Tatra 8×8. Jason Pak, izvršni direktor Hanwha Defense USA za razvoj poslovanja u domenu kopnenih sistema, rekao je u avgustu da je dizajn „nezavisan za vozilo“. Dodao je da će dugoročni šasija biti prilagođena Armiji. Puska je CN98 dužine cevi 52 kalibra, koju proizvodi Hyundai WIA, isti top koji se koristi na gusenoj verziji K9.
Hanwha says three soldiers operate the gun from an armored cab. The company says the magazine holds 40 projectiles and 192 propellant charges. In an April 2026 demonstration video from Hanwha’s test center near Changwon, the gun fired nine rounds in just over 59 seconds.
Hanwha kaže da tri vojnika pode tri posluživača topom iz oklopnog komandnog prostora. Kompanija navodi da magacin drži 40 projektila i 192 pogonska naboja. U demonstracionom videu iz aprila 2026. iz Hanwha-ovog centra za testiranje kod Čangvona, top je ispucao devet projektila za nešto više od 59 sekundi.
#BREAKING: video of our technically superior and rapidly fieldable 155mm K9 Mobile Howitzer being put through its paces.
Welcome to the Unfair Fight.
More detail: https://t.co/1ZPZMwymgj
#FIRESSymposium #KingOfBattle https://t.co/jwa57lmJp0— Hanwha Defense USA (@HanwhaDefenseUS) April 10, 2026
#BREAKING: video naše tehnički nadmoćne i brzo operativne 155 mm K9 Mobilne Haubice koja se stavlja na probu.
Dobrodošli u nepravednu borbu.
Više detalja: https://t.co/1ZPZMwymgj
#FIRESSymposium #KingOfBattle https://t.co/jwa57lmJp0
— Hanwha Defense USA (@HanwhaDefenseUS) 10. april 2026
Army testing has not started.
Testovi vojske još nisu počeli.
“We’re excited to have that and get ready to test it,” said Brig. Gen. Robert J. “RJ” Mikesh Jr., the Army’s portfolio management executive for offensive fires. “And to get that soldier feedback, that we think is so important.”
„Znamo da smo uzbuđeni što ga imamo i što ćemo ga pripremiti za testiranje“, rekao je brigadir-general Robert J. “RJ” Mikesh Jr., zvaničnik za upravljanje portfolijom za ofanzivne vatre. „I da dobijemo povratne informacije od vojnika, koje smatramo izuzetno važnim.“
Gde stoji ugovor
The Army awarded the prototype agreement Aug. 18 under Other Transaction Authority (OTA). It runs an estimated four years and covers up to 18 systems: six prototypes plus options for 12. The ceiling is $262.9 million, with $100.3 million obligated at award.
Vojska je 18. avgusta dodijelila ugovor za prototip pod okvirom Other Transaction Authority (OTA). Trajaće otprilike četiri godine i obuhvati do 18 sistema: šest prototipova plus opcije za 12. Maksimalni iznos ugovora iznosi 262,9 miliona dolara, od čega je 100,3 miliona obavezan pri dodeli.
The order has already grown. On Sept. 24, the Army ordered three more units, bringing the total under contract to nine, Inside Defense reported Oct. 6, citing Mike Smith, Hanwha Defense USA’s chief operating officer and president of land systems.
Narudžbina se već povećala. 24. septembra Vojska je naručila još tri jedinice, čime je ukupan broj ugovorenih povećan na devet, izvestio je Inside Defense 6. oktobra, pozivajući se na Mikea Smitha, glavnog operativnog direktora Hanwha Defense USA i predsednika sektora za kopnene sisteme.
The Army has said in budget documents that Stryker brigade combat teams will be fielded first, followed by mobile and infantry brigade combat teams. Army leaders have said they want a ready system by 2031.
Vojska je u budžetskim dokumentima navela da će Stryker brigade borbene jedinice biti opremljene prve, zatim mobilne i pešadijske brigade. Vođeni vojske su rekli da žele da imaju spreman sistem do 2031. godine.
Šta ostaje u Koreji
Mikesh said the Army looked for mature designs worldwide. “We opened our aperture for companies around the world, knowing that they’d have to onshore production within two years,” he said. “That howitzer is now on contract.” His remarks, as reported, did not specify which components the requirement covers.
Mikš je rekao da je Vojska tražila zrele dizajne širom sveta. „Otvorili smo mogućnost za kompanije širom sveta, znajući da će proizvodnja morati biti preseljena na domaće tlo u roku od dve godine“, rekao je. „Ta haubica je sada na ugovoru.“ Njegove napomene, kako su preneli, nisu navodile koje komponente zahtev pokriva.
Smith described the transition in August as two waves: U.S. production rising while Korean production subsides. “There are certain things that we want to keep in Korea, however, and we’re working through that,” he said. He did not name them. He suggested a full-rate run could reach nearly 500 systems if the Army orders one.
Smith je u avgustu opisao prelaz kao dve faze: američka proizvodnja raste dok proizvodnja u Koreji opada. „Međutim, postoje određene stvari koje želimo da ostanu u Koreji i na tome radimo“, rekao je. Nije ih naveo. Predložio je da bi punom brzinom proizvodnje moglo biti proizvedeno gotovo 500 sistema ako Vojska naruči jedan.
Smith said Hanwha would provide “the munitions, the charges, the full-up rounds, the integration, and then the industrial capability to produce those systems on our own here in the U.S.” The company has also announced plans for production in Arkansas as well as Alabama. Smith’s account did not say where the turret, autoloader, or barrel will be built. Those are the assemblies that distinguish this howitzer from the M777.
Smith je rekao da će Hanwha obezbediti „municije, naboje, kompletne projektilne serije, integraciju, i potom industrijsku kapacitet da te sisteme proizvodimo i ovde u SAD.“ Kompanija je takođe najavila planove za proizvodnju u Ajkansasu, kao i u Alabami. Smithov nalaz nije naveo gde će biti izrađeni kupola, automatski utovarivač ili cev. To su sklopovi koji ovu haubicu razlikuju od M777.
Šta puca prvi
The loader does the crew’s heaviest work. Hanwha says separate conveyors move projectiles and charges, which cuts the gun crew to three from the five on the original K9. For a battery, that means fewer soldiers per gun and more dependence on a single assembly.
Utovarivač obavlja najteže poslove posade. Hanwha kaže da odvojene trake za projektil i naboj omogućavaju da tri vojnika rade umesto pet koji su bili na originalnom K9. Za jednu bateriju to znači manje vojnika po topu i veću zavisnost od jednog sklopa.
Battalion mechanics can swap a failed assembly if one is on hand. If a part is unique to the manufacturer and not stocked, it comes back up the supply chain from the company that builds it. For any assembly still made in Korea, that chain crosses the Pacific.
Mehaničari bataljona mogu da zamene neispravan sklop ako ga imaju pri ruci. Ako je deo jedinstven za proizvođača i nije na lageru, on se vraća u lanac snabdevanja od strane kompanije koja ga pravi. Za svaki sklop koji se još proizvodi u Koreji, taj lanac prelazi Pacifik.
Problem Pacifika
Split production is not new. The M777’s titanium structures were built by BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness, England, with final integration at BAE’s plant in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, according to the company. The difference is location. Changwon, on South Korea’s southeastern coast, is within range of North Korean ballistic missiles.
Podeljena proizvodnja nije nova. Titanijumske konstrukcije M777 izrađene su od strane BAE Systems u Barrow-in-Furnessu, Engleska, sa završnom integracijom u BAE-ovoj fabrici u Hattiesburgu, Misissippi, prema kompaniji. Razlika je u lokaciji. Čangvon, na jugoistočnoj obali Južne Koreje, nalazi se unutar dometa balističkih raketa Sjeverne Koreje.
The Changwon complex also builds K9s for South Korea, Poland, Australia, and Egypt, Hanwha says. In a conflict on the peninsula, U.S. orders would draw on the same plant supplying the South Korean Army’s own guns. In a conflict over Taiwan, Korean-built assemblies would have to cross western Pacific shipping lanes.
Kompleks u Čangvonu takođe proizvodi K9 za Južnu Koreju, Poljsku, Australiju i Egipat, kaže Hanwha. U sukobu na poluostrvu, američke narudžbine bi koristile istu fabriku koja snabdeva sopstvene puške Južne Koreje. U sukobu oko Tajvana, sklopa proizvedena u Koreji morala bi da pređu zapadne pacifičke morske putanje.
Šta Opelika mora da dokaže
Soldiers will put the prototypes through a series of experiments under the Army’s plan. The goal is to measure performance, reliability, and supportability. The results should show how often the loader fails and how long a crew needs to get it working again. They will not show how long a replacement part takes to arrive from Korea.
Vojnici će prototipove staviti kroz seriju eksperimenta prema vojnom planu. Cilj je da se meri performanse, pouzdanost i održivost. Rezultati bi trebalo da pokažu koliko puta utovarivač otkaže i koliko vremena posada treba da ga ponovo stavi u funkciju. Neće pokazati koliko dugo traje isporuka zamenskog dela iz Koreje.
The rest of the initial order is due next. Hanwha says the other five of the first six prototypes will be delivered within a year of the August award. The next marker is that delivery, due by August 2027.
Preostala naredna faza početnog naloga očekuje se sledeće. Hanwha kaže da će preostalih pet od prvih šest prototipova biti isporučeno u roku jedne godine od dodele u avgustu. Sledeća tačka je ta isporuka, očekivana do avgusta 2027. godine.
