By Ha Man-joo, India correspondent, AsiaToday - Hanwha Techwin (formerly Samsung Techwin), in partnership with Indian defense sector company Larsen and Toubro (L&T), has won a Rs 4,875-crore ($750 million) order for supplying the Indian Army with 100 K-9 self-propelled guns, reported Business Standard (BS), India's leading business newspaper, on Wednesday.

According to the report, the Indian Ministry of Defense has informed L&T and Hanwha Techwin that their gun K-9 Vajra ("thunder" in Hindi) has passed army trials conducted in 2013 and 2014. The ministry has notified to rival Rosoboronexport (RoE), a Russian arms export agency, rejecting the 2S19 MSTA self-propelled gun.

The K-9 Vajra consists of a 155-mm/ 52 caliber ordnance with a maximum firing range of 40 km. The Indian army is said to have passed the K-9 for being highly mobile and being able to conduct operations in the open desert. The army plans to deploy this gun for its mechanized strike corps, which launches rapid thrusts deep into enemy territory.

BS reported that the K-9 Vajra's 13 major sub-systems including the fire control system and ammunition handling system, which accounts for 50% of the weapon system, will be manufactured in L&T's three facilities in India.