Indian Army's latest big gun K9 Vajra-T Howitzer: Know all about its birthplace

Hazira: Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week inaugurated the Armoured Systems Complex (ASC) developed by Larsen and Toubro (L&T) in Gujarat's Hazira.

This is the first private facility in the country where the K9 Vajra self-propelled Howitzer guns will be manufactured.

L&T had in 2017 won the Rs 4,500-crore contract from the Ministry of Defence to supply 100 units of K9 Vajra-T 155 mm/52 calibre tracked self-propelled gun systems to the Indian Army under the Centre’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Here is all you want to know about K9 Vajra-T Howitzer's birthplace

• The ASC is a state-of-the-art facility to manufacture and integrate advanced armoured platforms such as Self-Propelled Artillery Howitzers, Future Infantry Combat Vehicles (FICV), Future Ready Combat Vehicles (FRCV) or Future Main Battle Tanks.
• The Complex is currently executing the ‘K9 Vajra-T’ 155mm/52 calibre Tracked, Self-Propelled Howitzer Guns program.
• Spread over 40 acres, within L&T’s sprawling 755-acre Hazira Manufacturing Complex, the ASC comprises state-of-the-art facility with high-end machinery and automation aids, feeder shops, and a full-fledged mobility Test Tracks for acceptance and qualification of armoured vehicles.
• The L&T Hazira Complex is amongst the largest and most contemporary manufacturing facilities, among few in the world and produces extra-large offshore modules, Reactor End shields and Steam Generators for Nuclear Power plants, high end equipment for the Hydrocarbon, Thermal Power and Defence segments as also ultra-clean Special steels and Heavy Forgings.
• The ‘K9 Vajra-T’ Howitzer Program involves delivery of 100 systems in 42 months with an associated Engineering Support Package (ESP) covering spares, documentation and training and Maintenance Transfer of Technology (MToT) to the Army Base Workshop to support the Howitzer regiments throughout their life cycle.
• Having delivered the 10 systems ahead of schedule, the ASC will deliver the balance 90 within next 22 months.
• The ‘K9 Vajra-T’ systems are being delivered with 50% indigenous content (by value) which includes 75% indigenous work packages at the Program level and involves local production of over 13,000 components per gun system through a supply chain of about 400 local Tier 1 manufacturers with over 100 from the MSME segment. L&T has put in sustained efforts and innovation in indigenising ‘K9 Vajra-T’, right from prototype built for user evaluation trials by indigenously developing fourteen critical systems, including the Fire Control System, Direct Fire System, and the Ammunition Handling System.
• L&T also developed the Auxiliary Power Packs, Air-conditioning Systems, Fire Fighting Systems, and NBC Protection Systems for phase 1 production units itself.
• L&T entered into Transfer of Technology agreement with South Korean Hanwha including training a team of engineers and integration specialists at Hanwha facilities. Subsequently, this trained team made structured efforts towards skill development in India by training suppliers’ as well as its own extended teams.