Kristen Smith 
- The event is set for Sept. 21 at Pine Bluff Arsenal
- Hanwha won a $100 million Army prototype contract in August for its K9 Mobile Howitzer
- The company holds an Army lease at Pine Bluff tied to a planned $1.3 billion munitions facility
Hanwha Defense USA will join Army officials and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders for an economic development announcement at Pine Bluff Arsenal on Sept. 21.
CEO Michael Coulter will attend the event, the Arlington, Virginia, company told ExecutiveBiz on Thursday.
The advisory follows a year in which the Hanwha Aerospace subsidiary secured an Army lease at the Arkansas installation and a prototype contract for its artillery system.
What Is Hanwha Building at Pine Bluff Arsenal?
The Army awarded Hanwha an enhanced use lease at Pine Bluff Arsenal in Jefferson County in January, with the company planning to invest roughly $1.3 billion in a munitions facility focused on producing key ingredients used in explosives and propellants, materials that underpin munitions such as 155mm artillery rounds. The Army expected the project to generate roughly 200 skilled jobs.
Terms were preliminary at announcement, pending lease negotiations and due diligence the Army said would conclude in the following months.
The enhanced use lease program lets the Army lease underused installation property to private partners, with proceeds available for reinvestment in infrastructure.
What Is the K9 Mobile Howitzer Contract?
In August, the Army awarded Hanwha a $100 million firm-fixed-price contract to produce prototype K9 Mobile Howitzers under its Mobile Tactical Cannon program, with a ceiling of $263 million.
The award covers six prototype 155mm units, with an option for 12 more, over a roughly four-year period of performance covering prototyping, testing and soldier experimentation. It was issued competitively under an other transaction authority.
Hanwha signed a three-year lease on a facility in Opelika, Alabama, for integration and testing. Jason Pak, head of land systems sector at Hanwha Defense USA, described Opelika as the launch point for a phase-one manufacturing network.
If approved, the K9 system would replace M777 towed artillery in select formations.
