Nasik: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday inducted three major artillery gun systems, including the M777 American Ultra Light Howitzers and the K-9 Vajra, into the Army.
The third gun system inducted is the ‘Composite Gun Towing Vehicle’ for towing some of the existing guns in service with the country, while K-9 Vajra is a self-propelled artillery gun.
#WATCH Nasik: The M777 Ultra Light Howitzer which was inducted in the Army recently,in action. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Army Chief General Bipin Rawat were also present on the occasion pic.twitter.com/2eZgP28QHb
— ANI (@ANI) November 9, 2018
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The induction ceremony here comes ahead of establishing the first regiment- each comprising of about 18 guns- of the M777s and the Vajra by around mid next year, an official said.
Smt @nsitharaman presides over the induction of the K-9 Vajra T, M777 Ultra Light Howitzer and High Mobility 6×6 Gun Towing Vehicle into the Indian Army, along with MoS Defence @DrSubhashMoS and General Bipin Rawat, CoAS. pic.twitter.com/ccanZhNsgr
— Raksha Mantri (@DefenceMinIndia) November 9, 2018
For procuring 145 M777s, India in November 2016 had entered into a contract with the United States under the Foreign Military Sales programme for Rs 5,070 crore.
The M777s, which have been used in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, can be easily transported to high altitude areas by helicopters.