On April 3, 2025, the South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace (part of the Hanwha Group) announced the signing of a new contract worth $ 253 million with the Indian private group Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for the supply of kits for the production of 100 additional 155 mm/52 self-propelled howitzers K9 Vajra-T (a variant of the K9 Thunder howitzer) for the Indian Army.
155mm/52 self-propelled howitzers K9 Vajra-T of the Indian Army (c) Ministry of Defense of India
Earlier, under a 2017 contract, L&T and Hanwha Aerospace had already supplied the Indian Army with 100 K9 Vajra-T self-propelled howitzers. The Indian L&T Group signed an agreement with Samsung Techwin, a manufacturer of K9 self-propelled howitzers (since 2016 it has been under the control of Hanwha Corporation as Hanwha Techwin, now Hanwha Aerospace) on the joint production of this self-propelled howitzer in India and its promotion to the Indian Ministry of Defense in March 2012. In October 2015, the K9 self-propelled howitzer was announced by the Indian Ministry of Defense as the winner of the 155-mm/52 self-propelled artillery system selection process for the Indian Army that has lasted for more than two decades. At the same time, it was reported that at the final field tests in India in 2014, the K9 surpassed the Russian self-propelled howitzer "Msta-SM" in the export version of 155 mm caliber, which was its main competitor.
In May 2017, the Indian Ministry of Defense awarded Larsen & Toubro Group a contract worth 4,600 crore rupees (about $710 million) to supply the Indian Army with 100 (with an option for 50 more) K9 self-propelled howitzers, dubbed Vajra-T. In April 2017, L&T signed a corresponding agreement with Hanwha Techwin on the licensed production of self-propelled guns K9. According to the contract, the first ten self-propelled guns K9 Vajra-T were delivered ready from South Korea to Hanwha and were delivered to India in April 2018. The remaining 90 self-propelled guns were assembled at the Armoured Systems Complex of the L&T Group in Hazira (Gujarat) from kits supplied by Hanwha, with an alleged Indian localization level of 50 percent. Deliveries of all these 90 systems were completed in February 2021. As part of this production, L&T manufactures a hull, a turret, an ammunition supply mechanism, a fire control system, a projectile velocity measurement radar, anti-WMD protection, air conditioning and fire extinguishing systems. The Indian industry also supplies the BEL FOG navigation system, the thermal imaging night vision system and the STARS-V Mk 3 radio communication system (and a total of 14 Indian-made systems are used on ACS). Thus, the swinging parts of the howitzer themselves are probably imported entirely from South Korea, and the engine and transmission are from Germany. The Vajra-T also uses a South African-made auxiliary power plant, and 12.7mm Kord machine guns are imported from Russia. In addition, a special Safran MINEO DFSS gunner's sight is installed on Indian self-propelled guns for direct fire.
The option for 50 self-propelled guns for the 2017 contract was not implemented directly, but in September 2022, the Defense Procurement Council (DAC) approved the acquisition of another 100 K9 Vajra-T systems for the Indian Army, the corresponding contract with L&T was signed on December 24, 2024 in the amount of 7628.7 crore rupees ($890 million).. Deliveries on it should be made from the end of 2025 to the beginning of 2028. To implement this contract, L&T has now signed a contract with Hanwha Aerospace for the supply of kits for the production of 100 self-propelled guns. All of them are to be assembled by L&T at a facility in Khazira with an increased localization level to more than 60 percent.
155mm/52 self-propelled howitzer K9 Vajra-T of the Indian Army (c) Hanwha
