BASICS

• Indian Army will soon have the deadly K9 VAJRA-T 155mm/ 52

calibre tracked self-propelled howitzer in its arsenal.

• The gun developed and built by developed by Larsen and

Toubro (L&T) Defence is likely to enter service by the end of

May 2018

NOTES

•The K9 VAJRA-T is a variant of the South Korean K9

Thunder which is considered by defence experts to be

the world's best 155mm/52 calibre self-propelled

howitzer in terms of the number of systems in active

service.

HOWITZER• Self-propelled - Self-propelled guns are

mounted on a motorised wheeled or

tracked chassis (because of this they are

sometimes visually similar to tanks).

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A MAIN BATTLE TANK, A SELF-PROPELLED

HOWITZER• Tank - An armoured fighting vehicle armed with a high-caliber

cannon on a rotating turret designed for direct engagements

against other armoured fighting vehicles.

• They’re made to provide indirect fire. Since they’re supposed

to fight so far away from their targets, they don’t have heavy

armor.

NOW, WHY DOES INDIA NEED LIGHT HOWITZER'S?

• Long range, depending on the ammunition and the length of

barrel (caliber). In comparison, the range of tanks and mortars

is limited to around 5 km.

• Elevation: Tanks have a elevation of +25 degrees to -10 degrees.

Howitzers have elevation of +70 degrees to -5 degrees. A

Howitzer will be able to hit a target on top of a mountain,

while a tank will not.

FIRST FIVE INDIAN M777 HOWITZERS TO ENTER SERVICE IN SEPTEMBER

•Weight - 4,200 kg

CONNECTIONS• Heavy lift aircraft : Boeing C-17 Globemaster, Lockheed

Martin C-130J Super Hercules, Airbus C-295 military transport

• Heavy lift helicopters : CH-47F Chinook Heavy Lift

• Self Propelled Tracked Howitzer - The K9 Thunder to be

manufactured as the K9 VAJRA-T by L&T

• Self Propelled Wheeled Howitzer - The Dhanush :

Enhanced version of the original Bofors FH77B Howitzer,

designed by OFB+DRDO-ARDE.

• MLRS : The Pinaka MBRL - Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher

K9 VAJRA-T• At present several armies across the world have the K9

Thunder in their arsenal. The gun has a proven track record of

delivering devastating firepower in extreme weather

conditions, jungles, barren deserts and severely cold areas.

NOTES

•L&T had joined hands with South Korea's Hanwha

Tech Win (HTW) to win the bid in May 2017 to

deliver 100 howitzers at a cost of nearly Rs 4,500

crore under the government's 'Make In India'

initiative in 42 months.

•The guns have over 50 per cent indigenous

components.

•Under the contract, L&T brought 10 K9

VAJRA-T from South Korea while the rest 90

are being manufactured at L&T's Strategic

Systems Complex in Talegaon near Pune. L&T

is also constructing a production line for K9

VAJRA-T at Hazira in Gujarat.