Rajnath Singh flags off 51st K-9 Vajra in Surat

Hazira, Jan 16: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday flagged off the 51st K-9 Vajra-T gun at the Larsen and Toubro Armoured Systems Complex at Hazira, Surat.

The L&T officials showed the minister the different manoeuvres of the K-9 Vajra-T, a tracked self-propelled howitzer. Singh sat in the vehicle on which the gun was mounted and was driven around the Hazira complex.

The gun weighs 50 tonnes and can fire 47kg bombs at 43-kilometre distant targets. It can also turn around at zero radius. 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.

The K9 Vajra contract involves delivery of 100 such systems in 42 months, which is the largest contract awarded to a private company by the Ministry of Defence.

The Defence Minister also put 'tilak' and drew the auspicious 'swastik' symbol with kumkum on the new artillery. During the puja, he also offered flowers to the gun and broke a coconut.