NE NEWS SERVICE
HAZIRA, JAN 16
Union 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.
Video Courtesy: Gujarat Tak
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 the 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.
Video Courtesy: Defence PRO, Gandhinagar.
On this momentous occasion, A.M. Naik, Group Chairman L&T said, “Our Defence team has once again demonstrated L&T’s engineering and execution prowess in building this most advanced weapon system to the exacting levels of quality while ensuring on-time delivery. The Hazira Manufacturing Complex has set various international technology and manufacturing benchmarks and the K9 Vajra is certainly one of them”.
J.D. Patil, Senior EVP (Defence & Smart Technologies) and Member of the Board, L&T said, “Building Platform Programs like the K9 Vajra, contribute to the economy with a large multiplier effect and have a significant role in building a national defence industrial base. With the experience, track record, capability and infrastructure we have built at the Armoured Systems Complex, we are ready to take on development and build India’s future armoured platforms. Traction on the Strategic Partnership Model is what we look forward to for building diverse and advanced weapon platforms thereby strengthening the defence industrial ecosystem and enhancing self-reliance in National security. With delivery of 51st Vajra Howitzer today we have created Industry benchmark by delivering first of class Armoured Systems ahead of schedule and are on track to deliver the entire 100 howitzers ahead of schedule.”
PM Modi with K-9 Vajra-T gun
Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a brief video of himself standing in a tank on his Twitter handle. “Checking out the tanks at L&T’s Armoured Systems Complex in Hazira,” Modi said in the tweet.
“I congratulate the entire team of Larsen & Toubro for building the state-of-the-art K-9 Vajra Self Propelled Howitzer. This is a significant contribution towards India’s defence sector and protecting the country… Boosting ‘Make in India’ in the defence sector is our endeavour. I am glad that the private sector too is supporting this pursuit and making a valuable contribution,” the Prime Minister tweeted after the inauguration. He, however, did not address people at the inauguration.
