Indian Army Artillery

[Kunal Biswas]

Not sure but paramilitaries are not supposed have armed armoured vehicles.

I don't expect DRDO to give us a F-35 or Abrams. But i do expect a better rifle than INSAS or 105 mm gun which is actually light. The only example of creativity last seen was Prahaar. But that too has bleak future.

There is nothing like that, Paramilitary can have tanks and gunships too, But they don't need it..

INSAS is OFB product not DRDO, DRDO & OFB are different, Insas is fine rifle..



OFB have 105mm variants:

This one is little more than 3000kgs, slung under MI-17s, Also deployed in siachen glacier..

This is heavier used in regular arty units..

 

[blueblood]

There is nothing like that, Paramilitary can have tanks and gunships too, But they don't need it..

Brig. Ray will be able to throw some light.

INSAS is OFB product not DRDO, DRDO & OFB are different, Insas is fine rifle..

I know but where is the DRDO product?

OFB have 105mm variants:

I know that mate.

Ordnance Factory Board

They are :

Indian Field Gun ( Mk1, 2 & 3). Some 600 are in service and will be replaced by 155mm tender winner.

Light Field Gun. Some 700 are in service and are not to be replaced in the near future.

Neither of them is what you could actually say "light".

This discussion is leading nowhere. I think you should delete the off topic posts.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

I know but where is the DRDO product?

There is no Rifled asked from DRDO during that time frame..

I know that mate.

Ordnance Factory Board

They are :

Indian Field Gun ( Mk1, 2 & 3). Some 600 are in service and will be replaced by 155mm tender winner.

Light Field Gun. Some 700 are in service and are not to be replaced in the near future.

Neither of them is what you could actually say "light".

This discussion is leading nowhere. I think you should delete the off topic posts.

Not all 105mm are suppose to be replaced by 155mm..

3000KG as per Indian reqirment is light, Lighter would be better but without lacking present range..




You can edit your posts even del..

 

[blueblood]

There is no Rifled asked from DRDO during that time frame..




Not all 105mm are suppose to be replaced by 155mm..

3000KG as per Indian reqirment is light, Lighter would be better but without lacking present range..

No, all IFGs are to be replaced just like D-30(more than 500 in service). 700 of the 1200 M-46 will be converted to 155mm and the rest will be kept in reserve, modified or not.

The only 105mm which will see the future is the LFG for mountain divisions till a lighter 155mm is developed or procured to replace them.

Mate, 3000 kgs is not light by any standards, when there light 155mm around with 4 tonnes and 5.3 tonnes weight. As I mentioned earlier LG1 with 1500 kgs and L118 with 1800 kgs are light guns. LFG weigh twice as much. That is a huge difference.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

No, all IFGs are to be replaced just like D-30(more than 500 in service). 700 of the 1200 M-46 will be converted to 155mm and the rest will be kept in reserve, modified or not.

The only 105mm which will see the future is the LFG for mountain divisions till a lighter 155mm is developed or procured to replace them.

As I mentioned earlier LG1 with 1500 kgs and L118 with 1800 kgs are light guns. LFG weigh twice as much. That is a huge difference.

Correct, that is the plan..

As per reqirment its lighter, though if we can have a 105mm gun under 1500kg than it can be carried by dhruv and it will give flexibility to IA field commanders..

 

[blueblood]

Correct, that is the plan..

As per reqirment its lighter, though if we can have a 105mm gun under 1500kg than it can be carried by dhruv and it will give flexibility to IA field commanders..

Exactly. LFG is not exactly "light". If Brits and French can do it in the 80s then DRDO should be able to do it now. Not really rocket science but good metallurgy.

Its not just about heli trans portability but also the mobility after that. IA uses Maruti Gypsies with 1300cc engines. A 3 tonne gun will be a pain in the butt to mobilize on the relatively narrow roads in the mountains or one has a employ a AL stallion which could have been used otherwise.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Exactly. LFG is not exactly "light". If Brits and French can do it in the 80s then DRDO should be able to do it now. Not really rocket science but good metallurgy.

Its not just about heli trans portability but also the mobility after that. IA uses Maruti Gypsies with 1300cc engines. A 3 tonne gun will be a pain in the butt to mobilize on the relatively narrow roads in the mountains or one has a employ a AL stallion which could have been used otherwise.

Mobilizations of 105mm / 40mm / 23mm arty used by specialized stallions trucks not jeep , You have to carry personal and most importantly ammo within the truck..

Also, The OFB 105mm cannon not DRDO again, can be reduced to that weight, Note the gun french use are 30 caliber of 105mm without shield, where as Indian version use shield and its longer 37 caliber of 105mm hence greater range than brit and french once..


If Army gives a requirement than it can be modified to even more lighter..

 

[blueblood]

Mobilizations of 105mm / 40mm / 23mm arty used by specialized stallions trucks not jeep , You have to carry personal and most importantly ammo within the truck..

Which could have been done by Gypies had the gun would have been lighter.

Also, The OFB 105mm cannon not DRDO again, can be reduced to that weight, Note the gun french use are 30 caliber of 105mm without shield, where as Indian version use shield and its longer 37 caliber of 105mm hence greater range than brit and french once..

Never said that it was DRDO's, but DRDO can improve it. Both LG1 and L118 has better range, check again.

If Army gives a requirement than it can be modified to even more lighter..

Possibly. A lighter and improved LFG can be a boon in the North East which still has underdeveloped infrastructure. G-7 is perfect example.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Which could have been done by Gypies had the gun would have been lighter.

A lighter and improved LFG can be a boon in the North East which still has underdeveloped infrastructure. G-7 is perfect example.

Why not Jeep is stated in the last post..

As long as Denel ban there is no option regarding SA guns..

 

[kaustav2001]

Now that is one hell of a mortar. High rate of fire, automatic FCS and other goodies. Great find Kunal. A company as tiny as ST Kinetics is putting DRDO to shame, again.

Yes this could have been a gr8 thing.. but ahem....we've also banned STK

 

[blueblood]

Why not Jeep is stated in the last post..

As long as Denel ban there is no option regarding SA guns..

You can add jeep too.

G-7 was merely an example to show that although it is a heavier gun it provides the range of 155mm. On the other hand LFG is heavy but lacks the range. I never implied that India should procure any 105mm gun or even 155mm for that matter, but DRDO should improve the existing ones. If one can make an ICBM, a howitzer is nothing but a child's play but it will require dedication and out of the box thinking.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

You can add jeep too.

but DRDO should improve the existing ones. If one can make an ICBM, a howitzer is nothing but a child's play but it will require dedication and out of the box thinking.

You cannot add jeep, Not because it can tow 105mm arty or 23mm or 40mm guns, But when tow a gun it have to also carry ammo, and to carry ammo it need space which not there.. ( Keeping in mind there are 8 personal already on board )

If you add another jeep for ammo carrying duty it increase logistic chain..

If army gives a requirement than sure they will..

 

[Zebra]

Army Asks DRDO to Develop Indigenous Howitzers .

Posted on: May 23, 2012

Giving a boost to indigenous artillery programme, the Indian Army has pledged to the DRDO that if it proves its 155 mm 52 calibre howitzers in trials, it will place orders for a minimum 150 guns.

We have handed over a letter to the DRDO conveying that if it proves its guns in user trials in a specific time frame, we will place orders for at least 150 guns, sources said to Defencenow.com.

DRDO's Pune-based ARDE is working on developing the 155 mm 52 calibre howitzer in view of the shortage of guns faced by the Indian Army.

The DRDO had started working on developing these guns in early part of the last decade but they stopped work after the Army issued a global tender for procuring 400 guns at a cost of rs 1,500 crore, they said.

The DRDO has told the Army that it already has the technology and required metallurgy for the project and would not need more than three years to come out with a world class howitzer.

The Army after a drought of 27 years is set to receive its first howitzers as a deal to procure 145 ultra-light howitzers gas been cleared by the Defence Ministry in a meeting held earlier this month.

The Army has also issued a global tender for 400 howitzers but that has run into trouble after major player BAE Systems backed out from the race saying the standards have been diluted in the fresh RFP and it would not be possible for it to compete with lower quality and cheaper gun systems.

The Army has a Field Artillery rationalisation plan under which it plans to spend rs 20000 crore for procuring several types of howitzers for increasing its firepower.

Army Asks DRDO to Develop Indigenous Howitzers - Defence Now

 

[shuvo@y2k10]

indeed a great news.the drdo with increased funding should develop all the needs of our armed forces by itself or with private participation even if it is not mandated by armed forces who prefer to go for imports in certain products.

 

[kaustav2001]

Ok.. how about this - a 120mm soft recoil mortar system from Elbit Systems (could probably be deployed on a jeep)

Elbit Systems unveiled today the Soltam SPEAR 120mm autonomous, soft recoil mortar system, designed for light wheeled platforms. The company has already tested the system on a modified HMMWV displayed at the 3rd. Fires and Artillery Conference in Zikhron Yaakov, Israel. The new design introduces a second-generation development of the combat proven CARDOM system developed by Soltam, which has been widely deployed with the US Army on Stryker wheeled APCs and Israel Defense Forces Keshet M-113 based self-propelled mortars.

More @ Elbit Systems Introduces the SPEAR - a Mortar for the HMMWV | Defense Update

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Good Idea ..

 

[Neil]

Army assures orders for DRDO Howitzers

New Delhi: In a major boost to indigenous defence capabilities, the Indian Army has assured the DRDO an order for over 140 howitzers once the premier research agency proves its artillery guns which are under development.

DRDO's Pune-based Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) is working on to develop a 155 mm 52 calibre indigenous howitzer for the Army.

The DRDO was recently told by the Army that it will place an order for over 140 artillery howitzers if the guns being developed by the research agency are proven in field trials and are ready for induction, sources told a news agency here.



This proposal made by the Army to the DRDO was also a part of the presentation made to Defence Minister AK Antony while he was reviewing the preparedness of army's Corps of Artillery, which has not been able to induct even a single piece of howitzer for over 25 years after the Bofors gun deal scam broke out in the 80s.

During the presentation, the Defence Minister was also informed about the progress made in the development of Bofors guns being produced indigenous by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).

The trial of the OFB guns was done recently in the Pokhran firing ranges in presence of senior officials from the Army, which has already placed an order for 100 of these guns.

The Defence Ministry has recently approved the procurement of 145 Ultra Light Howitzers (ULHs) from the US under a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route for being deployed in high altitude areas.

A deal for these guns is expected to be signed by the end of this fiscal and one they start getting inducted, they will be the first ones to join the army in over two decades.

DRDO had earlier developed the 105 mm field artillery guns for the Army and is still in operational service.

DRDO had started working on the development of the Bhim self-propelled howitzer about a decade back but the project was virtually scrapped after South African firm Denel was blacklisted by the ministry.

PTI


:: Bharat-Rakshak.com - Indian Military News Headlines ::

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Why not Jeep is stated in the last post..

As long as Denel ban there is no option regarding SA guns..

When you refer to a "jeep" is that an M151 or another indigenous vehicle?

 

[sayareakd]

Ok.. how about this - a 120mm soft recoil mortar system from Elbit Systems (could probably be deployed on a jeep)

More @ Elbit Systems Introduces the SPEAR - a Mortar for the HMMWV | Defense Update

can this be put on TATA, MM and Maruti Jeeps ?

 

[kaustav2001]

can this be put on TATA, MM and Maruti Jeeps ?

I guess any "Humvee class" vehicle could be adapted to host this system, the article does mention light tactical vehicles but again.. how light ? IMHO light weight vehicles/ jeeps may not be able to handle the recoil /stress on the chassis during sustained firing.