What is K- 9 Vajra?

About K-9 Vajra:

• It is a 155 mm, 52-caliber tracked self-propelled artillery system.
• It can fire shells at great elevation angles to hit targets far away.
• It is built by Larsen & Toubro with technology transferred from South Korean defence major Hanwha Défense based on its K9 Thunder platform.
• It can perform a variety of missions due to its capacity to fire a wide range of artillery ammunition, including high explosive, smoke, and illumination shells.
• Features:
  • It has all-welded steel armour up to 19mm thick.
  • The main weapon is the 155mm / 52 calibre gun.
  • The gun weighs 50 tonnes and can fire 47kg bombs.
  • It has a burst rate of fire of three rounds per 15 seconds and a maximum rate of fire of six to eight rounds per minute for three minutes.
  • It can strike enemy targets at around 50 kilometres.
  • It can also turn around at zero radius, basically at the same place where they are standing.
  • The K9 uses a digital fire control system, by which it can fire multiple rounds that can impact a given area at the same time.

Q1: What is K9 Thunder?

The K9 Thunder is a South Korean Self-Propelled 155 mm Howitzer (SPH) developed by Samsung Techwin and now manufactured by the company Hanwha Land Systems. In July 2017, Indian Company India's Larsen & Toubro and Hanwha Techwin (HTW) of South Korea signed a contract to produce the K9 155mm/52 Caliber Tracked Self-Propelled howitzer for the Indian Army under the name of Vajra-T, an enhanced version of the K9 Thunder, manufactured according to specific requirements of the Indian Army including desert operations.

Source: India's Make-in-India defence projects, include K-9 Vajra Howitzers and fighter jet engines, await post-election approval