India receives 51 of 100 K9 Vajira-T 155mm Self Propelled Howitzers

The K9 Vajira-T SPH. Photo c/o Indian MOD through Jane's.

The Indian Ministry of Defence (MOD) has formally received more than half of the 100 units of K9 Vajira-T 155mm/52 caliber tracked self-propelled howitzer systems from Indian defense contractor Larsen & Toubro (L&T), on behalf of the Indian Army (IA).

The 51st K9 Vajira-T SPH was delivered, apparently ahead of schedule, and handed over to Indian Defense Ministry Rajnath Singh on 16 January 2020 in L&T’s Armoured System Complex facility in Gujarat state.

L&T won a contract worth INR43.66 billion (US$615.70 million) in 2017 to supply 100 units of the K9 Vajira-T SPH system to the Indian Army, including engineering support package like spare parts, training, maintenance transfer of technology and others. 

The K9 Vajira-T is an Indian-spec license copy of the South Korean K9 Thunder from Hanwha Techwin, but with 50% local content with parts supplied by Indian contractors. L&T is required to delivered all 100 units by end of 2020, which L&T believes is doable.

The Indian Army has formally started using the K9 Vajira-T since late 2018.

The 47-ton K9 Vajira is equipped with a 155mm/52 caliber howitzer with a range of up to 43 kilometers depending on the projectile used. It is powered by an MTU MT881 Ka-500 V8 diesel engine paired to an automatic transmission from Allison, producing an output of around 1,000 horsepower. 


[1] Jane’s Defence Weekly
[2] India Economic Times
[3] Larsen & Toubro