MoD inks Rs 7,629 crore contract with L&T for K9 Vajra tracked guns

K-9 Vajra self-propelled artillery gun rolls down Raj Path on Republic Day

 

By Ajai Shukla

21st December 2024

 

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a contract on Friday with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for procuring 100 tracked artillery guns for the Indian Army for a cost of Rs 7,628 crore. 

 

L&T will build the guns -- designated K-9 Vajra-T 155 millimetre, 52 calibre, self-propelled (SP) howitzers, custom-developed for the Indian Army based on the K-9 Thunder platform – at its production facility in Hazira. The guns will be built under technical collaboration with South Korea’s Hanwha Techwin, under authorisation from that country’s Agency for Defence Development.

 

L&T has already built and supplied the army with 100 K-9 Vajra howitzers. In September 2015, the MoD selected Hanwha Techwin and L&T as preferred bidders in a tender for 100 guns. In March 2017, the MoD agreed to purchase 100 K9 Vajra-T howitzers for Rs 4,366 crore ($646 million).

 

Self-propelled artillery regiments equipped with K-9 Vajra-T guns move just behind tanks and infantry combat vehicles (ICVs) of the strike corps, pouring down high explosive shells on the enemy targets that the leading elements encounter. Wheeled artillery guns cannot keep pace with the tracked vehicles of the strike corps, especially while operating in desert terrain. In such operational environments, tracked guns like the K-9 Vajra are crucial for providing fire support.

 

The first 100 K-9 Vajra tracked SP guns built by L&T have equipped only five regiments, with each regiment deploying 20 guns. Of these, one artillery regiment was deployed to the China border after the May 2020 intrusions, and four more regiments have equipped the four tank brigades of a strike corps.

 

Now, the next 100 guns, which were contracted today, will equip another five regiments for the army’s second strike corps.

 

In the army’s long-range planning, these 200 guns will be followed by a third order for 100 guns. Each of those five regiments will equip one of the army’s “independent armoured brigades.”

 

The MoD has progressed the procurement of the second tranche of 100 K-9 Vajra as an “Atmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India) initiative. This procurement has been tendered in the “Buy Indian” category, which requires a minimum indigenisation level of 60 per cent.

 

The chief of L&T’s defence vertical, Jayant Patil, says: “The first tranche was procured in the category of “Buy Global”, which requires an indigenisation component of at least 30 per cent.  L&T competed with global players in that bid with indigenisation of about 50 per cent and, if one were to factor in forex variation, we actually indigenised 83 per cent (going by subsystems count).”

 

Amongst the systems that L&T has not indigenised, Patil mentioned the 1,000 BHP engine, which has been procured from Hanwha, produced under licence from MTU Germany; the Allison transmission, also licence produced in South Korea; and the main gun, whick has multi-round single impact capability.

 

“This versatile artillery gun, with its cross-country mobility, will play a pivotal role in enhancing the firepower of the Indian Army... The gun, being equipped with cutting-edge technology, is capable of delivering long-range lethal fires, with high accuracy and rate of fire and will be able to operate in sub-zero temperatures in high-altitude areas to its full potential,” stated an MoD media release on Friday.

 

“The manufacture of 100 K-9 Vajra howitzers will generate employment of more than 9 lakh man-days over a period of 4 years and encourage active participation of various Indian industries including medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs),” stated the MoD.