Indian Army gets new artillery guns after 30-years

After 30 years, Indian Army received its first two artillery guns that landed in Delhi on Thursday. Over the next two days, the M777 ultra light weight howitzers will be transported by road to the Indian Army's firing range in Pokhran, Rajasthan.

In December 2016, India signed the $737 million (about 4,700 crores) deal with the USA to purchase 145 M777 howitzers from the BAE Systems under a government-to-government contract.

While the first 25 guns are to be imported in the next two years, the rest would be assembled at a factory at Faridabad, which is set up by Mahindra in partnership with the BAE System. The entire order is to be executed in 54 months.

At half the weight of other 155 mm towed howitzers, the ultra-light weight howitzers with a range of 30 km,provide a rapid reaction capability for the Indian army, which can take these guns to the mountain.

“The skyrocketing price of these guns is due to the usage of the Titanium metal, which is currently unavailable in India. It is because of this metal, that these howitzers are dubbed as a lightweight military weapon.

The metal brings down the overall weight of the artillery gun outright,” said Lt Gen V K Chaturvedi, a retired Army officer, who played a key role to initiate the artillery modernisation programme of the Indian Army.

Since M-777 can be carried by Chinook helicopters  which too India is buying from the USA – they can be quickly moved to areas close to the border.

It can also be carried by the C-17 Globemaster and C-130J Super Hercules aircraft or on trucks, providing easy mobility in the mountains.

Indian Army’s field artillery rationalisation plan, drawn in 1999, aimed to acquire 2,800-3,000 155 mm/52-calibre guns of all kinds and 155 mm/39-calibre lightweight howitzers by 2027.

The projection includes 814 truck-mounted guns, 1,580 towed guns, 100 tracked self-propelled guns, 180 wheeled self-propelled guns and 145 ultra lightweight howitzers.

Since the induction of Bofors guns in the 1980s, Indian Army did not have any artillery guns. After three decades, an ordnance factory in Jabalpur is making indigenous Dhanush artillery guns, using the Bofors technology. These indigenous Bofors guns are not anywhere close to the induction.