K9 selected for Indian Army SPH requirement

Rahul Bedi, New Delhi - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
07 October 2015


India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has shortlisted the Samsung Techwin K9 Thunder 155 mm/52-calibre self-propelled tracked (SPT) howitzer for the Indian Army's long-delayed USD800 million tender for 100 such guns.

Larsen & Toubro will manufacture a version of the K9 Thunder for the Indian Army. (Samsung Techwin)
Larsen & Toubro will manufacture a version of the K9 Thunder for the Indian Army. (Samsung Techwin)

Official sources said the selection in late September followed desert and high altitude trials in 2013 and early 2014, in which the K-9 bested Russia's MSTA-SP (2S19) gun modified to 155/52 standards and mounted on a T-72 tank chassis.

Senior artillery officers told IHS Jane's that the K9 outperformed the Russian gun in operational mobility, speed, accuracy, and overall rate of fire.

The guns endured a further round of maintenance acceptability trials in mid-2014 undertaken by the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers and the Directorate General of Quality Assurance.

http://www.janes.com/article/55127/k...ph-requirement


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