Indian Army Artillery

[Kunal Biswas]

That is OFB`s project and diffrent from DRDO`s ..

DRDO one is a 52cal gun where as OFB making 45cal gun ..

From January of this year:

Desi Bofors howitzer to be tested again, Army keeps fingers crossed - The Times of India

 

[Sea Eagle]

@Kunal Biswas

The latest 8x8 self-propelled howitzer ZUZANA2 155 mm 52 caliber of Slovak Industry at IDEB 2014
At IDEB 2014, the Slovak Defense Company Konstrukta Defence presents the latest modernized version of the Dana 152mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer, called theZuzana2. This howitzer is based to the Zuzana1 armed with a 155mm 45-caliber gun and automatic loader which enters in service with the Slovak Army in 1998.

World Defence News: The latest 8x8 self-propelled howitzer ZUZANA 2 155 mm 52 caliber of Slovak Industry at IDEB 2014

 

[Sea Eagle]

Anyone What system is this ?
Seems to me like a WLR

 

[Kunal Biswas]

BEL WLR

Anyone What system is this ?
Seems to me like a WLR

 

[Kunal Biswas]

There are other WLR also operated by IA ..

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Gen VK Singh in a recent Interview with MoneyControl

"The problem is with your procedures. Let me give you one simple example. We made a gun, which we called the Indian field gun, an excellent in the gun, in the Jabalpur coach factory. In last 25 years, you haven't made a single gun. Why? Because the procedure says Indian army has not ordered more guns, "Hey guys, why were you sleeping? Why didn't you upgrade yourself to make something else?" Today, we won't have been looking for a 155mm if this gun coach factory along with the DRDO, along with the armed forces, sat down and had made or taken a stride in making a 155 caliber gun. So, the basic mentality has to be changed."

This was my gut feeling for many years abt defence research in india, which i was not able to express clearly in words. Defence research in India, when successful (Naval Projects, IAF Avionics) has followed an approach , more or less as suggested by the General above. So, maybe, for successful defense product realization, all concerned parties should be involved with the project, and a Heavyweight and Influential Project leader (who signs ACR or decides bonus, has authority to hire and fire team members from that particular project) should be selected. Japanese companies have concept called as "Cross Functional Team" and a position known as "Project Leader" who directly reports to the CEO. An example is the recent OFB 155mm 45 Cal Project, where, after Summer trials were passed , if the team had a structure as suggested by Gen VKS above, small no. of guns like 18-24 nos / 3-4 batteries can be inducted in terrain where the trials were successful, like say Rajasthan sector, and induction in Winter terrain can be differed pending winter trial results. The new guns would complement the existing 105mm and 130mm artillery in desert sector, and no one is suggesting yet that they will replace the Bofors. This approach has also been seen in Navy-DRDO sonar projects, where new developments "complement" the existing hardware, which is often imported. IMHO, such an approach gives an option to field commanders at the grass roots level, who can atleast have some weapon to fire back with, when previously nothing was available.

 

[Sea Eagle]

NASHIK: The Indian Army will soon be adding the 155 mm gun 'Dhanush' to its range of guns which have been proving their prowess and deadly firepower in various battlefields.

The Indian army, which already has the 155 mm Bofors gun, will induct Dhanush, which would add even more might to the regiment of artillery, said army officials at the Exercise Mahasangram, which was conducted in the firing ranges of the School of Artillery at Deolali on Tuesday.

Army officials said that while the Bofors has a rate of fire of three rounds per 14 seconds, the indigenous Dhanush could fire eight rounds per minute. Dhanush, which in the trial stage, would soon be inducted, said the army officers.
MAY 2011 VISA BULLETIN PREDICTIONS

You posted a wrong link....

 

[Sea Eagle]

From the article...

Additional BrahMos equipped are planned or in operation along China border, along with two regiments equipped with Pinaka 214mm multiple rocket system

http://www.janes360.com/images/assests/216/38216/Indian_election.pdf

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Pinaka Multiple Launch Rocket System | Military-Today.com

 

[bengalraider]

The sheer stupidity with which our weapons procurement process works can be detailed by the artillery procurement process which has dragged along for three decades now, one more monumental blunder that i was recently made aware of would have been ridiculously hilarious if the lives of men were not at stake.let me elaborate
The indian army has fr long been trying to get ultra light 155mm 52/45cal howitzers for our forces we had umpteen trials between the M777 and the pegasus at the end of which the government made a hastily planned supposedly politically safe decision to go ahead and buy M777's from the U.S by the FMS route totally stonewalling both Mahindra and Punj lloyd who had invested substantial amounts in trying to get the contract for the ULWH,the sad part mere is that mahindra was also offering the M777, which would have been built in mahindra plants in India but now as gonna come as a CBU from the U.S totally negating the prospect of any indeginsation.
Apart from that blunder the GOI went ahead and ordered trials of heavy lift choppers that would eventually be used to ferry the ULWH to the heights where they would be based all fine till here well until you consider that there was no point in holding a trial and wasting more time and energy. the only heavy lift chopper in the world that was certified to carry both the M777 and its competitor the pegasus was the american Chinook, the russian MI-26T though it was a far more powerful chopper simply wasn't certified to carry either howitzer in an underslung configuration. As of now the whole shebang is at a standstill.
Consider this
1)We rejected the easist way to get Howitzers made in India
2)We wasted time in chossing a chopper when it was obvious there was only one solution.

No wonder our artillery procurement is in shambles.

 

[laughingbuddha]

I don't understand the procurement policy of compulsory multiple vender tenders. What if a company is the only company that makes a particular type of weapon? Will India wait years/decades until somebody else produces a similar type so as to avoid a single vendor
tender?

And the logic of only accepting the lowest bidder? No two weapon systems can be exactly the same. Do we want the best or the cheapest? Might as well buy Chinese if we want to be cheap.

Lets hope the new govt will review and make necessary amends to the defence procurement policy.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Summer trials for Indian Bofors in June

NAGPUR: The indigenous 155mm artillery guns, will go for the last round of firing trials next month. After successful winter trials in snowbound Sikkim during March, the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) is now preparing for the summer rounds of Operation Dhanush, as the project has been christened.

The tests will be held in June-end and shall continue till July in the Pokhran desert. If everything goes well, this will be the last time these guns will blaze to prove their mettle. However, other tests, which include an evaluation by the directorate general of quality assurance (DGQA) of the Army, will follow before the howitzers are finally inducted. The other tests will not involve test fires however, said a source.

The guns developed by GCF are of 155x45 calibre as against 155x39 of the original Bofors guns procured from Sweden. This means the Indian version has a longer barrel, ensuring a higher range. But, at the same time, the army itself is looking for 155x52 calibre guns from the open market and is also in the process of acquiring ultralight M777 howitzers from the US. The process of indigenization started over three years ago, after the Army's efforts to buy fresh lot of 155mm guns from the global market did not meet any success.

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

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Pinaka rockets successfully test-fired

BALASORE (Odisha): Indigenously developed Pinaka rockets, capable of destroying enemy positions at 40kms-range with rapid salvos, were on Thursday successfully test- fired thrice from a multi-barrel launcher at an armament base in Chandipur-on-sea, near here.

In July last year, an advanced, second generation Pinaka Mark II Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher System had undergone successful trials at Chandhan area in Pokhran field firing ranges in western Rajasthan and is in development stage, the sources said.

The development and trials of the advanced system will continue and it is expected to enter service very soon, they said.

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

 

[Sea Eagle]

What's the weight of the Dhanush howitzer ? Can it be carried by any of the Indian AF heavylift helicopters

 

[Kunal Biswas]

81mm Mortar in Action ..

 

[SilentKiller]

Sir is 3 man strength required for single 81mm mortar?
and how many of them can function at once say in a battery something like that...
can u classify it a bit and state its difference in man power required from 120mm mortar?

 

[Kunal Biswas]

You need minimum 3 people need to operate a mortar, 120mm can be operated by minimum 3-6 at max, depend on situation ..

can u classify it a bit and state its difference in man power required from 120mm mortar?

 

[Kunal Biswas]

TATA 155mm of 52cal, Prototype ..

 

[Hari Sud]

Only two years back General VK Singh was part of this inefficient system as COAS.

 

[arnabmit]

This is the 81mm-LR, right?

81mm Mortar in Action ..