The Indian Army (IA) has received all 100 K9 Vajra-T 155 mm/52 calibre tracked self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) ordered from Indian private-sector defence manufacturer Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in May 2017.
L&T said in an 18 February statement that IA Chief of Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane took delivery of the final unit of the Vajra-T – a variant of Hanwha Defense’s K9 Thunder SPH – at the company’s Armoured System Complex (ASC) in the western coastal town of Hazira in the state of Gujarat.
The INR43.66 billion (USD601.6 million) SPH contract, which was awarded to L&T by India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD), includes an engineering support package covering spares, documentation, and training. It also comprises the transfer of maintenance technology to the IA to support the 47-tonne SPHs during their entire service life.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on a K9 Vajra-T SPH during a visit to L&T’s Armoured System Complex in January 2020. L&T announced on 18 February 2021 that it has completed deliveries of all 100 K9 Vajra-Ts ordered for the Indian Army in May 2017. (Indian MoD)
L&T said the SPHs incorporate 50% indigenous content, which involved sourcing some 13,000 components from nearly 1,000 local manufacturers.
The Mumbai-based manufacturer said it has replaced 14 “critical systems” in the K9 Vajra-T to provide a “bespoke solution” for the requirements set out by the IA. No details were provided but industry officials told Janes that modifications were made to the platform’s automatic fire-control, direct-fire, and ammunition handling systems as well as to auxiliary powerpacks, air conditioning units, and nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) protection kits.
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