Army Prepares for 100 More K9 Vajra Howitzers to Boost Defences Along China Border

The Indian Army is on the brink of a substantial artillery upgrade as the government prepares to approve the procurement of an additional 100 K9 Vajra tracked, self-propelled howitzers.

The decision, expected to be finalized in a cabinet committee meeting this month, will significantly enhance India's firepower capabilities, particularly along the sensitive border with China.

This repeat order comes in the wake of the successful delivery of the initial 100 K9 Vajras by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in 2022.

Built in India under a technology transfer agreement with South Korean defence firm Hanwha Defense, these howitzers were initially designed for desert warfare.

However, their deployment in the high-altitude Ladakh region during the 2020 standoff with China showcased their versatility. The Army subsequently procured winterization kits to ensure the howitzers operate seamlessly in extreme cold conditions.

The acquisition of 100 more K9 Vajras aligns with India's defence procurement policy, which permits repeat orders up to the quantity of the original purchase.

The new howitzers are projected to be delivered in phases, with the final units expected to join the Army's arsenal by 2028.

 

[NSR]

The defense procurement regulation limiting the quantity to equal or less than the original 100 is definitely a stupid one, and must be changed immediately.

India needs more than 100, perhaps couple of hundreds.

I do not think Hanwa or South Korea will transfer GUN technology manufacturing with just 100 additional orders.
Need to bump the order to 200 to 300 to get most of the remaining TOTs from Hanwa.

India will need many more K9 Vajras on its expansive borders with two enemies.

 

[Anant]

The defense procurement regulation limiting the quantity to equal or less than the original 100 is definitely a stupid one, and must be changed immediately.

India needs more than 100, perhaps couple of hundreds.

I do not think Hanwa or South Korea will transfer GUN technology manufacturing with just 100 additional orders.
Need to bump the order to 200 to 300 to get most of the remaining TOTs from Hanwa.

India will need many more K9 Vajras on its expansive borders with two enemies.

Agreed. This kind of rule is just silly. Say, for instance, we get 5 pieces of a particular item for trials and then decide to procure a 1000 of them. This silly rule would mean we would have to place 199-200 orders, which is just nonsense.

Ideally, we would be wanting to loon at upwards of 500 self-propelled artillery pieces. The future of artillery is mobile artillery, be it SPA or MGS. Static artillery is still useful, but also very vulnerable.

 

[sanket]

India should also Think of Exporting this to Third Countries (Freindly Nation ).

 

[Apocalypse gupta]

Agreed. This kind of rule is just silly. Say, for instance, we get 5 pieces of a particular item for trials and then decide to procure a 1000 of them. This silly rule would mean we would have to place 199-200 orders, which is just nonsense.

Ideally, we would be wanting to loon at upwards of 500 self-propelled artillery pieces. The future of artillery is mobile artillery, be it SPA or MGS. Static artillery is still useful, but also very vulnerable.

Na man. Mobile or static artillery, both are equally vulnerable to LM and drones. Just look at ukraine war, ukraine has lost more number of mobile artillery than it has lost static artillery.

there are plenty of videos of artillery pieces getting hit by LM while they were on the move as they still move very slowly as compared to an LM or drone.

if you see videos coming out in past 1 year, you will see that ukraine has been using its mobile artillery as static artillery. Dig a ditch, put the artillery inside it, and cover it with camoflage, to prevent detection by drone and LM.

Ukraine has also been using lots of decoys and inflatable lookalikes to make russia waste its LM.

Indian army knows this too, that is why recently army said that it will again focus on buying towed artillery

 

[Apocalypse gupta]

These howitzers were all delivered by 2022, that is 2 years ago. Why not place repeat order then, when army loved them so much. Why waste 2 years. The production line was empty for 2 years.

 

[Sridhar]

IA should look at acquiring in excess of 700 plus units in a staggered manner keeping two fronts in mind. Towed Artillery is steadily losing its relevance in modern day war.

 

[Satya Dev]

Instead of buying the K-9 from LT, Gujarat under Atmanirbhar (screwdriver assembly) @ a hefty Rs 45-50 Crores apiece, why not directly import both K-9 & K-10 (ammo replenishment vehicle) @ Rs 40 crores?

 

[Baiju Bhaskaran]

Why only 100. At present Vajra is the only one we have which is specifically suitable for high altitude operations as it was designed for high altitude operations by the Koreans. We should go for more than 700.

 

[Bharat007]

The defense procurement regulation limiting the quantity to equal or less than the original 100 is definitely a stupid one, and must be changed immediately.

India needs more than 100, perhaps couple of hundreds.

I do not think Hanwa or South Korea will transfer GUN technology manufacturing with just 100 additional orders.
Need to bump the order to 200 to 300 to get most of the remaining TOTs from Hanwa.

India will need many more K9 Vajras on its expansive borders with two enemies.

Agree. We also need to keep in mind that we need it for both Pak and China front. Ordering -200-300 in one go makes sense.

 

[ramdas]

Repeat orders numbers procedure is complete BS. It all depends on the army's ground requirements to counter the adversaries.

 

[Pad UwU]

IMHO we need a couple of 1k+ of this kind of tanks.... Varja k9 is quite good especially on high ground terrain

 

[Deepak Hegde]

Instead of buying the K-9 from LT, Gujarat under Atmanirbhar (screwdriver assembly) @ a hefty Rs 45-50 Crores apiece, why not directly import both K-9 & K-10 (ammo replenishment vehicle) @ Rs 40 crores?

If we do that, how do you brag in name of Aatmanirbharta ?

 

[Vijay Anand]

These howitzers were all delivered by 2022, that is 2 years ago. Why not place repeat order then, when army loved them so much. Why waste 2 years. The production line was empty for 2 years.

I wonder if the procurement people in IA go to hibernation after giving requirements or placing an order. If they wake up peacefully will go for a repeat order, if they feel groggy, then they'll change requirements or drool for foreign equipment.

 

[wallisk]

IMHO we need a couple of 1k+ of this kind of tanks.... Varja k9 is quite good especially on high ground terrain

It is a tracked arty gun..... But IA using them as 155mm tanks now!

 

[wallisk]

YES. Buy this and 155mm main guns T14 Armatas also!

 

[Rinku Pandey]

I wonder if the procurement people in IA go to hibernation after giving requirements or placing an order. If they wake up peacefully will go for a repeat order, if they feel groggy, then they'll change requirements or drool for foreign equipment.

Because IA had asked for 300 from start but govt gave funds for only 100. If you don't know how these order works don't blame the army.

 

[LookingBack]

Instead of buying the K-9 from LT, Gujarat under Atmanirbhar (screwdriver assembly) @ a hefty Rs 45-50 Crores apiece, why not directly import both K-9 & K-10 (ammo replenishment vehicle) @ Rs 40 crores?

If you don't assemble today, how would you modify it tomorrow? How would know where's the shortcoming? And what would be better?
Without Honda's assistance decades ago, could Hero ever meet today's output? Doesn't it equally applly to all Indian car makers? Even Japan also imported old British machines at throwaway prices. So, better accept our laziness.

 

[desigandu]

Good, but 2 things - 1. Change procurement rules so there are long term orders for say 250 K9 Vajras over 10 years, but with enhancements and modifications as we go along; 2. Indigenous content and local suppliers must move to 100% in the next order; and finally what is going on on the other big howitzer orders, and development of 300 km MLRS in 300mm….

 

[Vijay Anand]

Because IA had asked for 300 from start but govt gave funds for only 100. If you don't know how these order works don't blame the army.

There were multiple reports that a good chunk of budget allocated was left unused till new allocation even by IA.