GlobalConflictहिंदी's video: India 40 K9 Vajra L T Artillery Offer

With China being the new focus of the Indian defence establishment, the Army is looking at ordering another 40 of the K9 Vajra Tracked Self-Propelled Howitzers for mountainous terrain, ThePrint has learnt. Sources in the defence and security establishment said the trials of three K9 Vajra, which were sent to Ladakh earlier this year, have been successful. Plans are now being finalised to order at least two more regiments of the 155mm/52 calibre howitzers that would be deployed in the mountains. The Army had initially ordered 100 (five regiments) of the gun system under a Rs 4,500 crore contract in 2017. The order for the initial 100 guns, basically meant for the deserts, was placed with leading Indian private defence major Larsen and Toubro (L&T). The company had successfully completed the order in February this year. L&T has signed a transfer of technology contract with the South Korean firm, Hanwha Corporation, which is the original manufacturer of the gun system known as K9 Thunder. “Vajra is a beautiful and formidable gun system. It has a high range and because it is tracked, the movement in the mountains becomes easier,” a source said. “With its range and motion capability, the system can be deployed strategically.” Sources said that a cost criteria for the next 40 Vajras is yet to be worked out but the process is on. The Indian army’s urgent requirement for towed artillery guns has taken an interesting turn. Larsen & Toubro Defence has offered to supply 400 towed artillery gun systems, which the army earlier wanted to import from an Israeli firm. The L&T guns, jointly developed with French gun maker Nexter, will be made locally with an indigenous content of over 70 per cent. L&T is understood to have made the unsolicited offer to the Indian army recently. The firm has said it can deliver the first gun in less than a year. The offer comes even as the army’s bid to buy the Israeli guns has hit a dead end. Last month, the defence ministry overruled the army and Department of Military Affairs’ (DMA) case to buy 400 artillery guns from Israeli firm Elbit Systems. The procurement was revived after border tensions with China in 2020. As the army’s own recent experience showed during the 1999 Kargil conflict, medium artillery fire support is crucial for offensive and defensive operations in the mountains. The army had revived the case for the 2017 import contract as indigenous production of the Dhanush (a version of the FH-77B Bofors howitzer acquired in 1987) has stalled. The state-owned OFB (Ordnance Factory Board) has an order of 114 guns but is yet to deliver the first regiment of 20 Dhanush guns (one artillery regiment is 18 guns with two kept in reserve). The Israeli gun was the cheapest offer in 2017 when price bids were opened after a six-year trial evaluation process to buy 1,480 guns (400 to be bought off the shelf and 1,180 to be built through ToT (transfer of technology) within the country). &TArtillery