Indian Army To Get First Batch of K-9 VAJRA-T Artillery Guns Next Week

Nashik, November 3: The Indian Army will get the first batch of K-9 VAJRA-T tracked, self-propelled artillery guns on November 9. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hand over the artillery guns at a ceremony which will be organised at Devlali Field Firing Ranges, under the aegis of the School of Artillery Devlali, Nashik, reported Sputnik News. Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat will also accompany the defence minister at the event. DefExpo 2018: India All Set to Showcase Its Indigenous Defence Production Capability

Last year in April, Indian company Larsen and Turbo signed a $710-million partnership with South Korea's Hanwha Techwin for India's second big gun deal after the BAE Systems-Mahindra entered into a $750 million contract to build 145 M777 ultra-light guns. Earlier in September, the Indian Army successfully test fired from indigenous advanced gun K9-Vajra-T at Pokhran field firing range in Jaisalmer.

The K9 Vajra-T is a 155 millimetre /52 calibre Howitzer. The gun is a type of K9 Thunder artillery used by the South Korean army. The "Hanwha Techwin" is providing technical support to the process. It would be the first set new Howitzers to be handed over to the army since the Bofors scandal surfaced in the late 1980’s. The guns are likely to be deployed along the western border with Pakistan. The weight of howitzer is about 45 Ton. The speed of the gun movement is 60-70km/ hour. The Indian government also ordered 114 Dhanush guns for induction into the army. The entire of the deal is $ 2 billion.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 03, 2018 11:05 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).