Article Posted on : - Apr 01, 2012

The K9 Thunder at display during Defexpo 2012. A Brahmand photo

NEW DELHI (BNS): Indian defence major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Samsung Techwin Co. (STW) of South Korea have announced that they would cooperate in the Indian Army's Tracked Self Propelled Artillery programme during Defexpo India 2012.

A proposal to develop the K9 Thunder 155mm/52 calibre tracked, self propelled artillery with L&T as the lead partner, had been submitted to the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2011.

L & T, as the lead partner, will indigenously produce the self-propelled howitzer, thereby contributing to self-reliance in the Indian defence sector.

As part of the cooperation agreement between the two companies, STW will provide key technologies to L&T for localisation of the K9 Thunder.

During the production phase of the Indian tracked artillery programme, the joint offering would have over 50% indigenous content including components like fire control system, communication system, NBC & AC, APU, life support system, etc which have already been used in India.

This phase will also include significant localisation of hull /turret structure and major subsystems. L&T also plans to set up the integration and testing facility for roll out of these guns from its world-class, dedicated defence equipment facility in Talegaon, near Pune.

"L&T and Samsung Techwin have joined together to offer a state-of-the-art Self Propelled Tracked Howitzer system meeting the aspirations of the Indian Army for this strategically important programme. This cooperation would lead to new avenues in Indian and global defence markets for both the partners working together," said Mr.M V Kotwal, Member of the Board, L&T and President, Heavy Engineering.

The K9 Thunder is on display at the L&T stall in the ongoing Defexpo, with L&T-STW jointly announcing its readiness to field the system for Indian Army's user evaluation trials which are expected to commence shortly.

L&T has had a series of successes as an innovator and systems integrator for key systems & technologies, and has indigenously developed and supplied complete systems for the Indian defence and aerospace sectors.

Samsung Techwin is the OEM for the Korean 'K9 Thunder' Self Propelled Howitzer, the largest and most successful of the155mm / 52 Calibre Self Propelled Artillery Systems.