South Korean defence and shipbuilding company Hanwha Ocean has said it will manufacture armoured vehicles in Canada if given the contract to build the Royal Canadian Navy's (RCN) new submarine fleet.Hanwha Ocean is currently in competition with German shipbuilding company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems over a rumoured $100 billion contract to build up to 12 new attack submarines for the RCN under the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project.In a bid to sweeten the deal for the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian government, Hanwha has signed a partnership with the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association (APMA) to build the K9 Thunder armoured howitzer in Canada..Hanwha has previously offered the K9 to the Canadian Army for its artillery modernization program, but the promise of domestic production would hinge on the granting of the submarine contract, says a source from the South Korean company."This venture will not go ahead if Hanwha’s KSS-III submarine is not selected for the Canadian patrol submarine project,” a Hanwha source reportedly told CTV News.."This partnership with APMA delivers on the request to support Canada’s automotive sector and workers in these challenging times,” the source added further.The Canadian Army has reportedly also expressed interest in purchasing 250 of these armoured howitzers, so the addition of domestic manufacturing capabilities would be seen as a massive benefit to the Army as well as the Canadian government.The K9 is currently used by 6 NATO nations as well as Australia, Egypt, Vietnam, India, and South Korea.A separate source has also said that this buildup of manufacturing capabilities could lead to other Hanwha weapons and vehicles being manufactured in Canada, such as the K239 Chunmoo rocket artillery system.The source claimed that this equipment would be "fully produced in Canada," something that would be music to the ears of Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has stated the importance of domestic manufacturing in future defence procurement.Hanwha and ThyssenKrupp have until April 29th to finalize bids for the submarine contract before a final decision is made.
