The Estonian Defense Ministry has decided to purchase six used South Korean K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers for 20 million euros ($22 million) to add to the 12 artillery systems it has already acquired, Defense Minister Juri Luik said on Thursday
TALLINN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd October, 2019) The Estonian Defense Ministry has decided to purchase six used South Korean K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers for 20 million Euros ($22 million) to add to the 12 artillery systems it has already acquired, Defense Minister Juri Luik said on Thursday.
According to the minister, the decision to purchase a new batch of self-propelled systems was made after it turned out that several tenders for the weapons were cheaper than originally planned. This made it possible to spare 20 million euros of the defense budget.
"The Estonian Defense Ministry decided to purchase six previously used K9 Thunder self-propelled artillery systems from South Korea for 20 million euros," Luik told Estonia's Postimees media outlet.
In 2018, the Estonian Defense Ministry signed an agreement to purchase 12 previously used K9 Thunder howitzers for 46 million euros. The systems were 10-12 years old but can serve up to 30 years. The howitzers will be delivered to Estonia by 2023.
