Indian Army Artillery

Hari Sud

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Anybody has an update on testing of Dhanush artillery piece with new muzzle break. It is almost six months that the testing broke down and muzzle brake was blamed?

Any updates.
 

bengalraider

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https://www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/pub/newsletter/2017/dec_17.pdf

Great News Limited series production for 40 ATAGS approved, no news whether it's the TATA or BFL gun though
that makes 114 DHANUSH + 40 ATAGS= 154 desi guns approved for production.
Also significant in that it means there are now four factories in India building artillery guns
Dhanush at OFB Jabalpur
K9 at the L&T plant in Taloja near Pune.
M777 at the mahindra assembly plant near Gurgaon
& now ATAGS
 

Kshithij

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https://www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/pub/newsletter/2017/dec_17.pdf

Great News Limited series production for 40 ATAGS approved, no news whether it's the TATA or BFL gun though
that makes 114 DHANUSH + 40 ATAGS= 154 desi guns approved for production.
Also significant in that it means there are now four factories in India building artillery guns
Dhanush at OFB Jabalpur
K9 at the L&T plant in Taloja near Pune.
M777 at the mahindra assembly plant near Gurgaon
& now ATAGS
Did the Elbit gun undergo testing? Which ATAGS went into testing a few months ago?
 

Kalki_2018

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Not bad. 114 Dhanush + 40 ATAGS + 100 K-9 and 145 M777 -> That is confirmed 399 guns on order. Hopefully numbers will go up soon.
Ideally we need to replace All 105 mm with 155 mm/39 cal like M777 and the ULH from Bharat forge. 105mm can be passed on to BSF and ITBP.
 

Chinmoy

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https://www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/pub/newsletter/2017/dec_17.pdf

Great News Limited series production for 40 ATAGS approved, no news whether it's the TATA or BFL gun though
that makes 114 DHANUSH + 40 ATAGS= 154 desi guns approved for production.
Also significant in that it means there are now four factories in India building artillery guns
Dhanush at OFB Jabalpur
K9 at the L&T plant in Taloja near Pune.
M777 at the mahindra assembly plant near Gurgaon
& now ATAGS
These 40 are LSPs and would be developed by TATA and BFL in consortium. I would be most pleased if the whole ATAGS goes in consortium way. The basic idea behind ATAGS was that only.
 

Kshithij

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These 40 are LSPs and would be developed by TATA and BFL in consortium. I would be most pleased if the whole ATAGS goes in consortium way. The basic idea behind ATAGS was that only.
So, ATAGS will have Tata + Bharat Forge + Elbit? Why are you happy at the consortium?
 

Chinmoy

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So, ATAGS will have Tata + Bharat Forge + Elbit? Why are you happy at the consortium?
Can't say about ELBIT in future. But consortium is a good way forward due to individual strength of both TATA SED and BFL in their respective field. Even now, in both the guns, TATA Power SED thus holds a 70% component ratio.
 

bengalraider

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So, ATAGS will have Tata + Bharat Forge + Elbit? Why are you happy at the consortium?
ELBIT is only the OEM for the autoloader in the BFL gun, no news yet whether the final approved gun will even have an auto loader.
 

Kshithij

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ELBIT is only the OEM for the autoloader in the BFL gun, no news yet whether the final approved gun will even have an auto loader.
Autoloader in an towed artillery? Why would someone do such a thing?
 

bhramos

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Army awaits howitzer mishap report, hopes artillery upgrade plan stays on track
The 155mm 39-calibre howitzers are being inducted to increase the Army’s capabilities in high altitudes, and will be deployed in the country’s northern and eastern sectors.


The M777 ultra-light American howitzer was firing Indian ammunition in Rajasthan’s Pokhran ranges.(ANI File Photo)


  • The two M777s are the first of the 25 readymade weapons that will be supplied by the US over the next two years. The remaining 120 howitzers will be manufactured in the country under the government’s Make in India plan, in collaboration with Mahindra Defence.

    The 155mm 39-calibre howitzers are being inducted to increase the Army’s capabilities in high altitudes, and will be deployed in the country’s northern and eastern sectors.

    The proposed induction of the M777 howitzers has turned the spotlight on the Army’s expensive artillery upgrade plan, which has been moving at a slow pace. It lays the roadmap for inducting new 155mm weaponry, including tracked self-propelled guns, truck-mounted gun systems, towed artillery pieces and wheeled self-propelled guns.

    “FARP has been put into place to a significant degree, and co-opted with the Army’s overall modernisation plans,” said Lamba.

    Besides this, private sector defence major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and South Korean firm Hanwha Techwin are in the process of executing a Rs 5,000-crore contract for supplying 100 K9 VAJRA-T tracked self-propelled guns to the force. The contract was signed on April 21.

    To be produced at Talegaon near Pune, the 155mm 52-calibre guns are likely to be delivered by 2021. The K9 has a range of 40 km.

    The Army also plans to induct 1,580 towed artillery guns at a cost of Rs 12,460 crore. A 155mm 52-calibre towed system jointly developed by L&T and French firm Nexter Systems is pitted against a gun developed by Bharat Forge and Israeli company Elbit for the order.

    A senior army officer said the project was being scrutinised by an expert committee, and a fresh set of comparative trials was on the anvil.

    “This programme needs to be put in place at the earliest because the timeframe for the production of Dhanush guns may be longer than anticipated,” Lamba said.

    Truck-mounted guns are another key requirement.

    However, the project has made little progress despite the defence ministry granting its ‘acceptance of necessity’ (AoN) to a Rs 15,750-crore plan for buying 814 systems of the kind in November 2014. The AoN for weapons is the first step towards making the proposed procurements. The AoN for the truck-mounted gun systems has expired and a fresh file will need to be moved to restart the process, said another officer tracking the project.

    “Artillery modernisation continues to stagnate despite sustained efforts by the Army and defence ministry,” said Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd), a military affairs expert and artillery veteran. “Since firepower will influence future battles in a more significant manner than ever before, fast-tracking it is critical.”

    Kanwal said truck-mounted gun systems were vital for supporting offensive operations in semi-desert terrains.

    The Army is also looking at inducting the indigenous 155mm 52-calibre Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the private sector. The ATAGS is currently undergoing trials.

    “Dhanush and ATAGS represent a significant leap in indigenisation, and will address the Army’s requirements for towed guns,” Kanwal said.

    Upgrading existing weapons is as important as buying new ones. Three entities are also competing for a Rs 720-crore order to upgrade the Army’s vintage 130mm M-46 artillery guns to the 155mm standard.

    This ‘up-gunning’ move will increase the gun’s range and ability to deliver heavier explosives.

    A bunch of past projects were hit by single-vendor situations, which is a strict no-no under India’s arms purchase policy, and suppliers being banned for wrongdoings. “The Army is offering full support to the ATAGS and Dhanush projects to achieve self reliance in critical artillery systems,” said another senior officer.


    http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/army-awaits-howitzer-mishap-report-hopes-artillery-upgrade-plan-stays-on-track/story-v43AJqg6JLlGnWLadyPQoM.html
 

Prashant12

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Indigenous artillery gun ATAGS to undergo winter trials in Sikkim

The 155mm 52-calibre ATAGS set a record during trials in Rajasthan’s Pokhran in September, firing shells to a range of 48 km.

A locally made gun is set to undergo crucial trials in January at a time when the army has sharpened its focus on its long-delayed artillery modernisation programme.

The indigenous 155mm 52-calibre Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the private sector, will kick off winter trials in the Sikkim sector, a senior army officer said.

The ATAGS set a record during trials in Rajasthan’s Pokhran in September, firing shells to a range of 48 km, against army’s requirement of 40 km.

The defence ministry sanctioned the ATAGS project in September 2012 and the DRDO has partnered with Bharat Forge and Tata Power (Strategic Engineering Division) SED to develop two prototypes of the towed artillery guns.

The two prototypes underwent their maiden structural stability trials in December 2016 at Proof & Experimental Establishment, a government test facility at Balasore in Odisha.

A letter of intent has been given to the DRDO for 150 ATAGS, an army source said.

The value of DRDO-developed/upgraded systems inducted into the armed forces during the last three years stands at Rs 1.1 lakh crore, the government told Lok Sabha on Wednesday. These systems do not include strategic weapons.

The army’s field artillery rationalisation plan (FARP), cleared in 1999, lays down the roadmap for inducting new 155mm weaponry, including tracked self-propelled guns, truck-mounted gun systems, towed artillery pieces and wheeled self-propelled guns.

The Rs 50,000-crore FARP seeks to equip 169 artillery regiments with a mix of nearly 3,000 guns over the next decade.

The army is looking to induct another indigenously developed 155mm 45-calibre towed artillery gun called Dhanush. But the programme has been delayed as the gun was involved in mishaps during trials. (Here, 155 mm denotes the diameter of the shell and calibre relates to barrel length.)

The force is awaiting a report on an accident involving its new M777 ultra-light howitzer. The BAE Systems-manufactured gun was partly damaged when a 155mm artillery round misfired and exploded in its barrel during a drill at the Pokhran firing ranges in September.

The M777 order is the first contract for artillery guns in almost 30 years after the Bofors scandal unfolded in the late 1980s. India signed the Rs 5,000-crore deal with the US in November 2016 for 145 howitzers.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...s-in-sikkim/story-9dopUMp0WRgvD7MIPLyLXJ.html
 

Hindustani78

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More firepower: The new gun is based on the Bofors howitzers. | Photo Credit: AJAJ

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...duction-into-army-delayed/article22334878.ece


December 30, 2017 21:27 IST
Updated: December 30, 2017 21:27 IST

After accidents during user exploitation trials of the gun, a Board of Inquiry is under way.

After accidents during the final phase of user exploitation trials, the induction of the Dhanush artillery gun into the Army has been delayed.

The Dhanush is an upgraded version of the 155-mm Bofors howitzers, which India procured in the mid-1980s, based on its original designs.

“There were two accidents in May and July during user exploitation trials. A Board of Inquiry is under way to determine the cause of the incident. As part of it, there will be an investigative firing likely to take place next month,” a defence official said.

The upgrade is being done by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) based on the requirements of the Army. To a query from The Hindu, the Board said that the Army was satisfied with the Dhanush gun, but before accepting it, wanted to do a wider exploitation of six guns prior to the grant of the bulk production clearance.

“So far, the exploitations have been carried out satisfactorily in the Pokhran and Babina field firing ranges and the Leh high-altitude range with three guns at each location. Further, these six guns altogether were fired at Pokhran in May 2017 and July 2017. Defects in the muzzle brake have been found in two guns and investigations are under process,” U. Mukherjee, OFB spokesperson, said in a written reply.

Dr. Mukherjee said these six guns would be further offered to the Army for balance user exploitations likely by February-March 2018, after carrying out internal firings. “It is expected that BPC [bulk production clearance] will be accorded immediately after completion of the user exploitations,” he said.

Better range

Dhanush is a 155-mm, 45-calibre gun with a maximum range of 40 km in salvo mode compared to the 39-calibre, 27-km range of the original guns. “The user exploitation trials are almost over. They will be inducted in 2018,” another official said.

The Army, which has not inducted any new artillery guns since the Bofors guns, is keen on inducting Dhanush. Other deals too are in the pipeline.

A project management team is working on this project at the Gun Carriage Factory, Jabalpur, and the Army has decided not to shift its personnel till the project is complete.

“To ensure continuity of the project, approval from the Vice-Chief was taken for continuity of personnel till 2020.”

The Army has placed an initial order for 114 guns and is expected to order another 400 more. As per earlier plan, the first regiment with 18 guns was to be inducted by 2017-end and the remaining guns in batches of 36 and 60 by 2019.
 

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