Indian engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Hanwa Techwin of South Korea signed a contract on Friday to manufacture the K9 Vajra-T tracked, self propelled artillery guns for the Indian Army.
The K9 has been shortlisted by the Army after extensive trials and it got the final approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) recently. The formal contract with the Government is expected in the next few days.
The procurement process began in January 2011 when the Request For Proposal (RFP) was issued under the Buy Global category.
The deal estimated at around Rs. 4,600 crore is for 100 guns and is likely to expand further. Deliveries will begin in 18 months and completed in 42 months.
Vajra-T is a 155mm, 52 caliber self propelled artillery gun with a maximum range of 40km. It is an upgraded variant of the original K9 Thunder gun. The fire control system has been customised for desert conditions as per requirements of the Indian Army.
As per agreement, the first 10 guns will be imported from South Korea and the rest would be manufactured by L&T in India.
L&T said in a statement that the first 10 guns would be manufactured at L&T facility at Talegon near Pune. L&T is setting up a green field manufacturing facility at Hazira in Gujarat.
This is the second major deal for artillery guns concluded by the Army recently. Last year India signed a deal for 145 Ultra-Light Howitzers with the US under the Foreign Military Sales program.
