K9 Vajra howitzer regiment inducted in Eastern Ladakh; WATCH HERE-
The K9 Vajra is an indigenized version of the K9 Thunder and can strike enemy targets at around 50 km.
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New Delhi, Oct 2: In a huge boost to defence sector along northern borders, the Indian Army has deployed K-9 Vajra howitzers in Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control with China. The Indian Army has also deployed its T-90 tanks in Ladakh.
It should be noted that K-9 Vajra has been built by L&T with technology transfer from South Korean defence major Hanwha Defense. However, it is the K9 Vajra is an indigenised version of the K9 Thunder and can strike enemy targets at around 50 km.
Speaking on their deployment and performance, Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said that these guns can also work in high-altitude areas. "Their field trials were extremely successful. We have now added an entire regiment, this will be really helpful," the COAS said.
The defence ministry has received 51 of the 100 orders it received for K9 Vajra ahead of schedule. While India has increased participation of the private sector in defence production, a lot still needs to be done to make India a global weapons manufacturing hub.
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"The K9 was originally a self-propelled gun for our armoured formations in the plains of Punjab and Rajasthan. When the situation... was developed in Ladakh... and there was a requirement of more firepower. These guns were inducted with some modifications and conducive to operate in high altitude areas," he added.
The Army chief stated that the field trials of the gun were extremely successful. "We have inducted entire regiment and it will certainly add to our firepower," he stated. The Army chief had been monitoring the induction and operations of the howitzers produced in the Larsen and Toubro facility in Hazira near Surat in Gujarat.
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The self-propelled guns have a range of 38 kilometres but they have been successfully hitting targets at 50 kilometres in the mountains up to 16,000 feet altitude in Eastern Ladakh. The gun has also been test firing along the Kargil sector, which shares boundary with Pakistan and can be very effective there also.
With the induction of the K9 Vajras, Dhanush and M777 ultra-light Howitzers, the Army is obtaining new inductions in its inventory.
