SOURCE: ANIMESH MISHRA / FOR MY TAKE / IDRW.ORG Artillery is one of the most important arms of a modern army, in the age of laser guided airstrikes it’s the old school shelling that often gives the extra push; even though modern ammunition now come with their own guidance systems. For the Indian Army its artillery has been in hibernation state for years, we all know why. 105mm IFG and the 105mm LFG have been the work horse of the army, and off course the big guy, the infamous howitzer the Bofors FH77. It’s the anti-hero of the army’s equipments which proved its worth in the Kargil War. Finally after years of “playin it safe”, the request of the army for new guns has been taken into consideration. Consideration would be an understatement; the army and the govt. are gearing up to go on a buying spree of various artillery systems, all of them likely to be produced indigenously. All the new artillery systems will be different calibers of 155mm guns. Ultra light howitzer, Towed Howitzer, Wheeled Self Propelled Howitzer, Tracked Self Propelled Howitzer, DRDO Dhanush, DRDO ATAGS are going to be the projects which change the face of Indian army for years to come. Let’s take a look at all of them individually. ULTRA LIGHT HOWITZER: The 155mm 39caliber M777 manufactured by BAE won this contract and is likely to produce the M777 in India with its Indian partner Mahindra. 145 such guns will be used by the Mountain Strike Corps. as the weight of the gun is below 4.2tns which apx. 60% less weight than the conventional systems of this category, making it perfect for the job. It will have a ERFB range of 30Km more than the Bofors and a max. range of 40Km with Excalibur shell, which itself needs special approval from the FMS(Foreign Military Sales) of USA. This system will be major boost to the army and eventually replace the 105mm guns in the mountains. TRACKED SPH: Tracked Self Propelled Howitzer, the 47tn 155mm/52 cal S.Korean K9 Thunder takes the cake in this category by defeating the Russian 2S19 MSTASP. 100 such SPH will be produced in India with the help L&T, with an option of 50 follow on order. They will be entirely manufactured by L&T under the name K9 Vajra with some modifications to original product as per the Army’s requirement. India has been at distinct disadvantage ever since US supplied Pakistan with 115 M109A5 in 2009, but the good thing is the K9 outperforms the M109 in almost every aspect. The k9 has a range of 41.6Km with ERFB base and 52Km range with rocket assisted shells. K9 though small in numbers will be a game changer and is likely to be deployed in the deserts as a deterrent against Pakistan. TOWED HOWITZER 1580: This massive project includes the procurement of 1580 towed howitzers which is likely to be of foreign origin and will be produced in India by private sector. The two main contenders for this mega project are the French state owned Nexter partnered with L&T and the Israeli Elbit with Bharat Forge. The French have presented the 155mm 52 cal Trajan with a max range of approx 42km and even 50km with RAS, this is the towed version of the Nexter Ceaser (SPWH). On the other hand Bharat forge has brought in the Bharat52 with a range exceeding 40km. Both these systems are excellent in their own way regardless of the result this project might just kickoff defence manufacturing in private sector at major scale. SELF PROPELLED WHEELED HOWITZER: The contract for 814 wheeled SPH is going to be pivotal as the system will have mobility, firepower, and most importantly greater number. These systems follow the theory of shoot and scoot, meaning fire 34 shells then quickly reposition and continue again. This is something that Indian Army has not operated at such magnitude and numbers. These SPWH will be extensively used in all terrains ranging from mountains to deserts and even in the islands for area denial. The contenders are the consortium of Nexter, L&T and Ashok Leyland with their Ceaser; secondly Soltam systems with Bharat Forge with ATMOS2000. Punjlloyd and Vojnotehni?ki Institut also at one point were keenly interested in the project and wanted to compete with their 4Th generation Nora B52 and TATA Power SED also produced their own prototype but little is known about these two systems. At the moment ATMOS and Ceaser are the two main systems in the race. The gun of Ceaser is same as Trajan with similar range of 42km and the ATMOS also has a respectable range of 41km. In my opinion this project is going to be one of the most important project in the recent history of the Indian Army. DRDO Dhanush: Now we move on to the local talent, 155mm 45 cal Dhanush which is made to replace the FH77 and even outperform it. And outperform it does, in the earlier stages not a lot of people had a faith in this system and thought it would go down the same road as the Bhim SPH, but despite all odds Dhansush is ready and infact has undergone several field, weather, mechanical tests and passed them. The range of the Dhanush is 38km far greater than the 27km of FH77, but its not just the range that makes it special but the degree of automation in both fire control and laying that makes things easy. 114 have already been ordered with a possibility of 445 in total. DRDO ATAGS: The Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System is the further modified version of Dhanush with a 155mm 52 cal gun system. Though it is just in the prototype stage, it is likely when ready it will also be inducted in greater number. ATAGS will have a strike range of 42km(aleast). DRDO and OFG have their monopoly over Indian artillery and with Dhanush and ATAGS it is unlikely they are going anywhere. Although the name ATAGS is not official, but let’s hope it becomes the off. Name, it has a nice ring to it. DRDO might also showcase these gun systems to foreign costumers, as these guns have huge export potential. The above mentioned projects are massive and difficult but crucial for the self defence of our country and for the first time the private & public sectors will be working at such extent. These will be monumental decisions which will slowly and surely get things on track for the Army, still there is a long way to go tanks, rifles, infantry projection gear, aviation wing, personnel vehicles etc. but at least if all goes well and the way the Armed Forces are fixing their vision for the future we can say the worst might just be behind us. Disclaimer : Articles published under ” MY TAKE ” are articles written by Guest Writers and Opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. 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