Table of Contents
BASICS
• Indian Army will soon have the deadly K9 VAJRA-T 155mm/ 52 calibre tracked self-propelled howitzer in its arsenal.
• The gun developed and built by developed by Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Defence is likely to enter service by the end of May 2018.
NOTES
•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.
HOWITZER
• Self-propelled – Self-propelled guns are mounted on a motorized wheeled or
tracked chassis (because of this they are sometimes visually similar to tanks).
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A MAIN BATTLE TANK, A SELF-PROPELLED
HOWITZER
• Tank – An armored fighting vehicle armed with a high-caliber cannon on a rotating turret designed for direct engagements against other armored fighting vehicles.
• They’re made to provide indirect fire. Since they’re supposed to fight so far away from their targets, they don’t have heavy armor.
NOW, WHY DOES INDIA NEED LIGHT HOWITZER’S?
• Long range, depending on the ammunition and the length of barrel (caliber). In comparison, the range of tanks and mortars is limited to around 5 km.
• Elevation: Tanks have a elevation of +25 degrees to -10 degrees.
Howitzers have elevation of +70 degrees to -5 degrees. A Howitzer will be able to hit a target on top of a mountain, while a tank will not.
FIRST FIVE INDIAN M777 HOWITZERS TO ENTER SERVICE IN SEPTEMBER
•Weight – 4,200 kg
CONNECTIONS
• Heavy lift aircraft : Boeing C-17 Globemaster, Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules, Airbus C-295 military transport.
• Heavy lift helicopters : CH-47F Chinook Heavy Lift
• Self Propelled Tracked Howitzer – The K9 Thunder to be manufactured as the K9 VAJRA-T by L&T.
• Self Propelled Wheeled Howitzer – The Dhanush: Enhanced version of the original Bofors FH77B Howitzer, designed by OFB+DRDO-ARDE.
• MLRS : The Pinaka MBRL – Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher
K9 VAJRA-T
• At present several armies across the world have the K9 Thunder in their arsenal. The gun has a proven track record of delivering devastating firepower in extreme weather
conditions, jungles, barren deserts and severely cold areas.
NOTES
•L&T had joined hands with South Korea’s Hanwha Tech Win (HTW) to win the bid in May 2017 to deliver 100 howitzers at a cost of nearly Rs 4,500 crore under the government’s ‘Make In India’ initiative in 42 months.
•The guns have over 50 per cent indigenous components.
•Under the contract, L&T brought 10 K9 VAJRA-T from South Korea while the rest 90
are being manufactured at L&T’s Strategic Systems Complex in Talegaon near Pune. L&T
is also constructing a production line for K9 VAJRA-T at Hazira in Gujarat.
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