The in-principle approval expands an artillery system built in India by Larsen & Toubro in partnership with South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace.

BulletsIn

• The Ministry of Defence granted in-principle approval for procuring more than 300 additional K9 Vajra-T self-propelled howitzers.
• The estimated cost of the proposed purchase is over ₹20,000 crore.
• The K9 Vajra-T is the Indian version of South Korea's K9 Thunder howitzer.
• It is a 155 mm, 52-calibre tracked self-propelled gun mounted on an armoured chassis.
• The system is built under the Make in India initiative by Larsen & Toubro at Hazira, Gujarat, in partnership with Hanwha Aerospace.
• Its reported firing range is around 40 km, extendable to roughly 50 km with certain ammunition.
• It can travel at up to 67 km per hour on roads and carries a crew of five.
• The gun can fire three rounds in less than 15 seconds.
• An all-welded steel hull protects the crew against shell fragments, landmines and small-arms fire.
• The tracked chassis lets the gun move with artillery formations and relocate quickly to reduce exposure to retaliatory fire.
• A howitzer fires explosive shells over long distances, including at high angles to hit targets behind obstacles.