Manoj Ambat's Blog dealing with Defence, Foreign Affairs, Strategic Affairs and Politics

K-9 Vajra ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / 권순삼, 국방시민연대 (Defense Citizen Network) Source- The Diplomat Author- Franz-Stefan Gady India has moved a step closer in acquiring 100 new K-9 Vajra 155 mm/52 caliber self-propelled tracked howitzers for the Indian Army. A contract between the Indian Ministry of Defense and the howitzer’s maker, South Korea’s Samsung-Techwin  (and its local Indian private-sector partner Larsen & Toubro (L&T), is expected to be signed within the next two months, an Indian defense official told Defense News. The defense ministry and L&T have completed price negotiations at the beginning of July. The $750 million deal, however, has not yet been approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), a government body headed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The CCS’s approval is a prerequisite before the signing of any defense deal. IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly reported in early July that the contract is likely to be cleared by the C