K9 VAJRA T : Make in India

karthikkakoor

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The mechanized forces of the Indian army have a reason to cheer. MoD is gearing up to ink a major deal for acquiring self propelled howitzers. The artillery is the fortitude of any armed forces and is crucial for close fire support, when the infantry is mounting a deep thrust assault into the enemy territory. The infamous ‘Bofors Scam’ has haunted the Indian Army acquisition programs for decades; not even a single piece of artillery has been acquired since the late 1980’s. India lost the battlefield edge in artillery to Pakistan soon after America transferred the deadly M 109 howitzer to Pakistan as a reward to its co-operation in ‘war on terrorism’. This move raised alarms in the power corridors of Delhi. India had to acquire the latest artillery pieces. Back in the South Block, tenders were fast tracked to acquire the latest possible pieces of machinery. The process has finally yielded with major deals coming to a near conclusion and the army setting sight towards induction of completed products.

India’s leading military hardware manufacturer Larsen & Turbo (L&T), a private entity, has virtually outperformed global players by bagging a major deal worth US $800 million to supply the Indian Army with tracked self propelled howitzers. The K-9 Vajra, a variant of the Samsung Techwin (STW) manufactured ‘K-9 Thunder’, has outperformed the Russian fielded 155mm 2S19 MSTA-S howitzer. The ‘K-9 Vajra’ was retrofitted specially for Indian needs and had successfully cleared the high altitude and desert trials. Vajra had also made it with flying colours during the maintenance acceptability trials. L&T in collaboration with the Korean giantSamsung Techwin (STW) will now manufacture the howitzer at its facilities in Pune, Powai and Talegaon.



Vajra is a 155mm 52-caliber self propelled howitzer and is evolved from the ‘K-9 Thunder’, which was designed bySamsung Techwin for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and introduced to service in 1999. Vajra can fire six to eight rounds in less than a minute. The vehicle is capable of attaining speeds up to 70 kilometres thanks to its8-cyclinder MTU manufactured diesel engine which churns out a whopping 1000 hp. Vajra is commanded by a crew of 5 and offers the best in class armour suite for the protecting the commanding personnel. Equipped withsteel armour, the vehicle can withstand armour piercing rounds and shells. The vehicle also incorporates an indigenously developed Nuclear Biological Chemical (NBC) suite which allows the crew to function even under the harshest conditions.

The 155 mm 52-caliber gun can strike targets up to 42 kilometres away with pin-point accuracy. The deal is being concluded under the ‘Buy Global’ category and will be the first piece of artillery machinery being manufactured in India since 1980’s. The deal is a major step forward for the government’s coveted ‘Make in India’ campaign.L&T aims to manufacture 13 major sub-systems in India including the complex fire control and ammunition handling systems. L&T is gearing up its manufacturing facilities at Pune, Talegaon and Powai to fast track the order. There is an acute need for artillery pieces and L&T expects the army to place follow-on orders for Vajra.Indian Army will also acquire the indigenously manufactured Dhanush 155 mm towed howitzers. Negotiations for acquiring and indigenously manufacturing M777 howitzers are afloat and will serve as crucial force filler for the mechanized forces of the army.

Source - http://lifeofsoldiers.com/index.php...cture-k-9-vajra-indigenously-for-indian-army/

 

Harinath

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when will this machine roll out from Pune's facility? when will our army will get this?
 

flying.modi

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Here is the proude example of make in india project K9 vVAJR T artillery guns. 155 mm 52 caliber
South Korea and L&T indian company together made this gun and delivered in record 11 month . 90 gun will be manufacturing here and will be export to there country.

 

WolfPack86

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FIRST K9 VAJRA-TS ROLLS OUT IN MAKE IN INDIA BOOST: IMAGES


155mm/ 52 Cal Tracked Self Propelled (SP) Gun
Prime Minister's "Make-In-India" received a boost when the first Tracked Self-Propelled Howitzer rolled out of L&T factory. It's noteworthy since L&T is ready to deliver the weapon system to the Army ahead of schedule.

About K9 VAJRA-T Howitzer
The K9 VAJRA-T 155mm/ 52 Calibre Tracked Self-Propelled Howitzer meets the requirements of 21st century warfare, which is based on the following missions: Deep fire support with its longer firing range; qualitative superiority to overcome a numerical inferiority with its higher rate of fire and accuracy and effective and reliable fire support in all kinds of circumstances with its higher mobility and protection.







The K9 VAJRA-T is a variant of K9 Thunder which is unarguably the world's best 155mm/52 Cal.SPH in terms of number of systems in active service. Currently, K9 Thunder is serving as one of the main conventional deterrent forces for a number of armies including the Korean Army. K9 Thunder has established its superiority through demonstrations and evaluation tests at various proving grounds in extreme weather conditions, jungles, barren deserts and severely cold areas. By demonstrating its ability to handle Indian as well as all NATO standard ammunition, K9 VAJRA-T has proven its excellent conformability to any field artillery unit.
http://www.indiandefensenews.in/2018/08/l-defence-aerospace-first-k9-vajra-ts.html
 

arya

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If i am not wrong it took approx 30 years after bofors , well good for army but we should be proactive this is just ok , ow we should plan for next generation technology . We should not be happy , we have to see what china is making how can we make better then china how can we counter ??

This should be come 10 years back , if i am not wrong we are 10 years late , so we have to plan & perform for future technology..

Well at last its good for army
 

Adioz

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The army DRDO should work on a new BHIM
The old denel turret can be replaced be a modified ATAGS System
This will be a fully indigenous system
And it will probably outperform the K9
That is exactly what I have been saying since ATAGS came out. But I have no idea if they can make it happen, and the weight of the resulting system.

, ow we should plan for next generation technology . We should not be happy , we have to see what china is making how can we make better then china how can we counter ??
If we want to compete on a platform by platform basis, we need to look at what US is doing, not at what China is doing. Why? Because China is looking to catch up with US just as we are looking to catch up with China. If we keep aiming for China, we will continue to miss the bus.

From what I can understand, the looking part is OK. Its the execution that is terrible.
 

Vignesh anand

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That is exactly what I have been saying since ATAGS came out. But I have no idea if they can make it happen, and the weight of the resulting system.


If we want to compete on a platform by platform basis, we need to look at what US is doing, not at what China is doing. Why? Because China is looking to catch up with US just as we are looking to catch up with China. If we keep aiming for China, we will continue to miss the bus.

From what I can understand, the looking part is OK. Its the execution that is terrible.
The current atags weighs 2 tons less then the old denel gun so , I don't think it will be a problem
 

Adioz

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