Mumbai: The Ministry of Defence, Government of India, has awarded a major contract to Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for the supply of K9 Vajra-T Artillery Platforms to the Indian Army. The company also announced that this batch of K9 Vajra-T platforms will be manufactured at the facility located in Hazira (Surat), just like the first batch.

K9 Vajra-T, a 155 mm, 52-calibre tracked self-propelled artillery platform adapted from the world’s leading South Korean self-propelled howitzer K9 Thunder, is co-developed by L&T and Hanwha Aerospace, to suit customised requirements of the Indian Army for operations in varied terrains, including deserts, plains and high-altitude regions.

In 2017, L&T had won the contract for the first batch of 100 K9 Vajra-T platforms through a global competitive bidding and after successful field evaluation. The Company delivered the Vajra Platforms ahead of schedule, thus demonstrating its capability to design, develop and manufacture such complex defence systems. These platforms have performed exceptionally well since induction.

“Like the first batch, the second batch of the K9 Vajra-T too will be manufactured at our Armoured Systems Complex at Hazira in Gujarat. The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility was dedicated to the nation by Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in Jan 2019 and it has since been playing a key role in developing and building armoured and artillery platforms in an integrated industrial ecosystem comprising of several MSME partners,” said Mr Arun Ramchandani, Senior VP & Head – L&T Precision Engineering & Systems.

“We are focussed on helping build an Aatmanirbhar Bharat and making India’s defence forces self-reliant with indigenously manufactured equipment,” he added. DeshGujarat