On the show floor of the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2026 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, the Army’s new wheeled 155mm howitzer got its official name: the XM1776 Mobile Tactical Cannon. Hanwha Defense USA, which builds it, describes the system as the American version of its K9 Mobile Howitzer. The company also said the Army has now ordered a total of nine prototypes, with an option for nine more.
The naming ceremony took place at Hanwha Defense USA’s booth on Oct. 12, 2026, according to the company. Lt. Gen. Francisco J. Lozano, director of the Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, announced the designation, Task & Purpose reported the same day, and said the name was meant to reflect “the spirit of innovation, independence, and determination.”
Hanwha’s Oct. 12, 2026 release says the company and the Army “unveiled the new XM1776 Mobile Tactical Cannon, the American version of Hanwha’s K9 Mobile Howitzer.” It calls the XM1776 “a technically superior and rapidly fieldable wheeled 155mm artillery system,” the company’s own characterization. The release says the Army “has now ordered a total of nine prototype wheeled XM1776 MTC systems, with an option for an additional nine MTCs.”
Nine and nine, or six and 12
The Army’s own count at contract award was different in shape, though not in total. An Aug. 18, 2026 Army announcement said Hanwha Defense USA, of Arlington, Va., won a competitively awarded, firm-fixed-price Other Transaction Authority agreement for up to 18 wheeled self-propelled howitzer systems. It called for accelerated delivery of six prototype Mobile Tactical Cannon systems, with an option for 12 more, over an estimated four-year period of performance.
Both versions add up to 18. Hanwha’s October release does not say whether options were exercised between August and October to bring the ordered total to nine. The Army’s August announcement put the action at $100,302,961 and the agreement’s total cumulative face value at $262,903,274.
According to the Army, the prototypes are for rapid prototyping, testing and soldier experimentation, to assess performance, reliability and supportability in realistic combat conditions. The results will inform senior leaders’ fielding decisions. If fielding is approved, the Army said, the Mobile Tactical Cannon would replace M777 towed artillery in select formations.
The first one is already with the Army
The Army has taken delivery of its first Mobile Tactical Cannon, Defense News reported in an Oct. 12, 2026 article by Hope Hodge Seck. Brig. Gen. Robert J. “RJ” Mikesh Jr., the Army’s portfolio management executive for offensive fires, told the outlet: “We’re excited to have that and get ready to test it.”
Mikesh said the Army did not seek a clean-sheet design but “opened our aperture for companies around the world,” with onshore production required within two years, per Defense News. The outlet reported that Army leaders want a ready version fielded by 2031, starting with Stryker Brigade Combat Teams and then Mobile and Infantry Brigade Combat Teams. It also noted that the K9 has been in South Korean service since 1999.
Task & Purpose’s Oct. 12, 2026 report described the XM1776 as a wheeled system on a truck chassis, with a three-person crew and an automated loader that can be run from inside the cab. Jason Pak, Hanwha’s head of land systems artillery, told the outlet that “part of this being a prototype contract award is going through testing and experimentation.”
An integration site in Alabama
Hanwha Defense USA, a subsidiary of Hanwha Aerospace, says it is establishing a Phase I site in Opelika, Ala., to serve as the U.S. integration and test facility for the XM1776 and Hanwha’s family of K9 Mobile Howitzers. The company’s release cites “more than 2,500 K9 Howitzers already fielded globally.”
Mike Smith, Hanwha Defense USA’s chief operating officer and president of land systems, framed the designation in the company’s terms:
“The XM-1776 Mobile Tactical Cannon represents the launch of the U.S. Army’s new long-range precision fires modernization effort and its powerful partnership with HDUSA to produce this system at speed and scale.”
Those are the company’s claims. What the Army has committed to so far, by its own August announcement, is a prototyping and soldier-experimentation effort whose results will decide whether the XM1776 is fielded.
Top image: A Polish K9 tracked howitzer fires in Poland in March 2023. The wheeled XM1776 is not shown. Image Credit: Staff Sgt. Matthew Foster / U.S. Army National Guard — Public domain / Wikimedia Commons