Turkey hit Syrian targets on Wednesday using the South Korean-designed T-155 Firtina howitzers, in retaliatory shelling of its southern neighbor.

The K9 Thunder was developed for the Korean Army by Samsung Techwin and its building license was first obtained by Turkey in 2004 for nearly $1 billion. Turkey has renamed the K9 Thunder “Fırtına,” which is the Turkish word for “storm.” Turkey has paid for a total of nearly 350 howitzers.

Though essentially using the main systems of the K9 howitzer - including the South Korean designed 155/52 caliber gun system, the majority of the chassis, the automatic ammunition feeding mechanism, and the German designed MTU-881 KA 500 diesel engine - the T-155 has considerable differences in its turret design, parts of its chassis, the navigation system, and the electronic system, such as the radio and fire control system that were developed in Turkey. Unlike the K9, the T-155 Fırtına lacks a commander’s digital panoramic sight. Through the Inertial Navigation System produced by Turkey’s military electronics conglomerate Aselsan, the howitzer is able to determine the coordinates of the targets at 17.5 meters deviation. Fırtına can open fire within 30 seconds.
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