india Optel Limited (IOL) has delivered the first batch of SIGMA 30N Digital Ring Laser Gyro Inertial Navigation Systems to Larsen & Toubro (L&T), for integration into K9 Vajra artillery guns being manufactured at Hazira, Gujarat. The handover links production at Ordnance Factory Chandigarh with a major Army artillery programme and marks a step towards local manufacture of a specialised navigation system.
The SIGMA 30N provides positioning, navigation and orientation data to artillery platforms, supporting accurate gun-laying – the process of aligning a weapon to fire towards a target. Unlike satellite-dependent navigation, its inertial system calculates movement and orientation using onboard sensors. That makes it useful when satellite signals are unavailable or disrupted, including in electronic-warfare conditions where GPS may be jammed or spoofed.
The system uses ring laser gyro technology, which measures rotation to help determine a platform’s orientation and movement. Safran Electronics & Defense, the French company behind the SIGMA 30 family, says its artillery navigation systems are designed to remain available in environments involving jamming, countermeasures or GPS loss. The technology can also be integrated with tactical command networks and ballistic computers.
For mobile artillery, dependable navigation can help crews establish a position, align a gun and prepare to fire without waiting for an external satellite signal. In the context of a conflict, the ability to operate when navigation signals are degraded can support continuity of operations. The system does not replace the gun or its fire-control functions; rather, it supplies positioning and orientation information that contributes to accurate engagement.
The delivery is part of an agreement signed by IOL and Safran in December 2025 to transfer production of the equipment to India. Under the arrangement, IOL is responsible for manufacturing, final assembly, testing, quality control and life-cycle support, while Safran contributes expertise in inertial navigation and fire-control technologies. The first delivery to L&T marks the transition from local production to integration on an operational platform.
The K9 Vajra is a 155mm tracked self-propelled howitzer produced by L&T at Hazira. Based on South Korea’s K9 Thunder design, it is manufactured in India and has been deployed by the Army in varied terrain, including Ladakh, according to the report. Integration of the Chandigarh-made system adds an Indian-produced navigation component to the artillery platform.
IOL’s Chandigarh facility is one of the company’s production units. The defence public-sector undertaking manufactures electro-optical sensors, weapon sights and communications equipment across its units. The SIGMA 30N is not the only system in the IOL–Safran collaboration: the partnership also covers the CM3-MR Direct Firing Sight, designed to improve direct-fire accuracy using optical and thermal technologies.
The handover illustrates a wider defence-industry approach: combine foreign technical collaboration with domestic manufacturing, testing and support. That can build local production experience and reduce dependence on overseas supply for selected components. It does not, by itself, establish how much of the system’s technology or its component supply chain is domestically sourced; the available reports describe the transfer of production and the allocation of responsibilities, rather than a complete breakdown of indigenous content.
The system was formally unveiled and flagged off by Garima Bhagat, Joint Secretary (Land Systems) in the Department of Defence Production. Senior representatives of IOL, L&T and Ordnance Factory Chandigarh attended. The next milestone will be integration and testing on the K9 Vajra platform, before the systems are used in service.
