L&T secures major defence order for K9 Vajra-T artillery platforms

Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Monday said it has bagged a major order from the Defence Ministry for the supply of K9 Vajra-T Artillery Platforms to the Indian Army.

According to the company's project classification, the 'major' order values between Rs 5,000 crore-10,000 crore.

The K9 Vajra-T is a 155 mm, 52-caliber tracked self-propelled artillery platform, adapted from the world's leading South Korean self-propelled howitzer K9 Thunder. Co-developed by L&T and Hanwha Aerospace, it has been customised to suit the requirements of the Indian Army for operations in varied terrains, including deserts, plains and high-altitude regions.

In 2017, the company won the order for the first batch of 100 K9 Vajra-T platforms through a global competitive bidding and after successful field evaluation.

The company delivered the Vajra Platforms ahead of schedule.

"Like the first batch, the second batch of the K9 Vajra-T too will be manufactured at our Armoured Systems Complex at Hazira in Gujarat. The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility...has been playing a key role in developing and building armoured and artillery platforms in an integrated industrial ecosystem comprising several MSME partners," Arun Ramchandani, Senior VP & Head '? L&T Precision Engineering & Systems said in a statement.