PM Modi dedicates to nation L&T Armoured Systems Complex at Hazira in Gujarat

Ahmedabad, Jan 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday dedicated to the nation L&T Armoured Systems Complex at Hazira in Gujarat. At this Armoured Systems Complex, 100 Howitzer artillery guns, christened "K9 Vajra-T", will be produced under the make in India programme.

According to its makers, the K9 VAJRA-T 155mm/ 52 calibre tracked self-propelled howitzer meets the requirements of 21st-century warfare.

The howitzer is capable of proving deep fire support with its longer firing range, has qualitative superiority to overcome a numerical inferiority with its higher rate of fire and accuracy along with effective and reliable fire support in all kinds of circumstances with its higher mobility and protection.

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. The K9 Thunder development programme started in 1989 and the first gun entered service with the South Korean Army in 1999.

L&T had won the Rs 4,500-crore contract to supply 100 units of the K9 Vajra-T 155 mm/52 calibre Tracked Self-Propelled gun systems to the Indian Army in 2017. The company has set up the Armoured Systems Complex at its Hazira facility, around 30 km from Surat, to manufacture the guns.

The Armoured Systems Complex is the first such facility in the country's private sector, an official said.