On April 3, 2025, the South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace signed a new contract with India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to supply components for 100 additional K9 Vajra-T self-propelled howitzers to the Indian Army. The contract is valued at $253 million and was formalized during a signing ceremony held at the Embassy of South Korea in New Delhi. This agreement builds upon the initial order placed in 2017 for 100 units, which were delivered ahead of schedule by February 18, 2021, from L&T’s Armoured Systems Complex in Hazira.
The new order increases the total number of K9 Vajra-T howitzers in the Indian Army to 200. The latest contract includes an enhanced domestic work share, raising the localization level from over 50% in the first batch to an expected 60% in the second batch. This is to be achieved through expanded collaboration with Indian defense industry partners under the framework of technology transfer agreements initiated in 2012 between Samsung Techwin and L&T. These agreements allowed for licensed production in India using domestically manufactured subsystems such as fire control systems (FCS), communications, NBC protection, and environmental control systems.
The K9 Vajra-T is an Indian-specific variant of the South Korean K9 Thunder. It was selected by the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2015 after outperforming the Russian 2S19 Msta-S in field trials. These trials included extensive desert and high-altitude testing, 587 rounds fired using Indian ammunition, and over 1,000 kilometers of mobility tests. Maintenance trials were conducted in Pune, electromagnetic interference tests in Chennai, and environmental tests in Bengaluru. Following successful evaluations, India signed an initial procurement contract on April 21, 2017, and a production agreement valued at $310 million. The first 10 units were built in South Korea, and 90 were assembled in India by L&T.
The K9 Vajra-T is equipped with a 155mm/52-caliber main gun capable of firing high-explosive, smoke, and guided projectiles at ranges up to 50 kilometers with extended-range ammunition. The system can achieve a burst rate of three rounds in 15 seconds and a maximum firing rate of six to eight rounds per minute for three minutes. The howitzer is powered by an MTU MT 881 Ka-500 diesel engine producing 1,000 horsepower, with a maximum speed of 67 km/h and an operational range of 360 km. Additional modifications for Indian service include desert and high-altitude performance enhancements, the integration of a South African auxiliary power unit (APU), and a digital fire control system supporting Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact (MRSI) capability. The gunner’s sight enables direct fire, similar to main battle tanks.