M777 ultra-light howitzers to Indian Army

HariPrasad-1

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2016
Messages
9,573
Likes
21,017
Country flag
I favour inducting 500 of these guns quickly.
Baba Kalyani Gun is about to get ready. He has made two version. One is bit heavy with 6 ton Payload but it has less maintenance cost. I recommend some heavy and less costly part in modular form to be kept at some places where the gun may be required. One can transport main assembly as and when required and gun can be made operational.
 

Chinmoy

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2015
Messages
8,675
Likes
22,526
Country flag

WolfPack86

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2015
Messages
10,502
Likes
16,946
Country flag
India has decided to enhance its artillery firepower along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with #China in eastern #ArunachalPradesh, with the US-made #M777 Ultra-Light Howitzers likely to be deployed along the LAC by the year-end.
 

WolfPack86

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2015
Messages
10,502
Likes
16,946
Country flag
Indian Army to begin deploying light howitzers in eastern sector
The Indian Army is preparing to deploy its new M777 ultra-light howitzers in eastern Arunachal Pradesh for accurate artillery fire support in the mountainous terrain that could prove to be a “game-changer” in the sector, two officers familiar with the move told HT.

The 155 mm/39-caliber howitzers, which can be sling-loaded to helicopters and swiftly deployed to high-altitude areas, are likely to be inducted by the year-end, the first officer said. India ordered 145 howitzers from the United States for $750 million in November 2016.

“The M777s will be a game-changer in the eastern sector. The highly portable guns can be swiftly deployed and redeployed for missions using the Boeing CH-47F (I) Chinook helicopters. The howitzers will be part of light artillery regiments,” the second officer said.

The howitzers have a range of 24-30km.
The tactical mobility will enable quick insertion of the howitzers in areas close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, which can move weapons, equipment and troops at a swifter pace because of better infrastructure, he said.

“It’s certainly a much-needed capability upgrade. Moving heavier guns around is not easy. Even soldiers take two days to reach the forward posts from Tezu (headquarters of the 82

Mountain Brigade),” he added. Tezu is located 250km south of Kibithu, which is along the LAC and accounts for the army’s eastern-most deployments.

The M777s are a key component of the army’s field artillery rationalisation plan (FARP), cleared in 1999. The ~50,000-crore FARP lays down the road map for inducting new 155mm weaponry, including tracked self-propelled guns, truck-mounted gun systems, towed artillery pieces and wheeled self-propelled guns. The plan seeks to equip 169 artillery regiments with a mix of nearly 3,000 guns over the next decade.

The army will raise seven new regiments with the 145 howitzers deployed in the northern and eastern sectors, the two officers said. M777 manufacturer BAE Systems is supplying 25 ready-built howitzers and the remaining 120 guns will be built locally in collaboration with Mahindra Defence under the Modi government’s Make in India initiative. The army is likely to get all the howitzers by 2021-end.

“The M777 is truly an advanced piece of artillery and it will meet the operational requirement of the formations deployed in the eastern sector. It stands out for its mobility, precision, rate of fire, and ability to hit targets in difficult mountainous terrain,” said former army vice chief Lieutenant General AS Lamba (retd), who was commissioned into the artillery and has served in the east for more than a decade.


The M777s were the first artillery guns to be ordered after the Bofors scandal unfolded in the late 1980s. Last December, then defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman dedicated the M777s to the nation. These howitzers have superior tactical mobility as they are made from titanium alloy and weigh only 4,218kg, which is half the weight of conventional artillery guns deployed in the northern and eastern sectors.

The CH-47F (I) Chinook and the M777 howitzer are a deadly combination, said former Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Fali Major (retd). “The load-carrying capacity of the Chinook and the capabilities that the M777 brings will certainly be a game-changer for the forces deployed along the eastern borders,” he said.

India ordered 15 Chinook helicopters from the US for $1.18 billion in September 2015. Six of them have already been delivered.

The army’s artillery arsenal in eastern Arunachal Pradesh includes the Bofors guns and the 105mm field gun. “Transporting these guns is quite tricky due to terrain and the infrastructure that is still a work in progress. It requires a lot of horse power and willpower,” said the first officer cited above.

The IAF plans to deploy US-made Apache AH-64E attack helicopters in the eastern sector in two years after a base there is fully ready to support the choppers, two senior IAF officers said on the condition of anonymity.

The helicopters are part of a $1.1-billion deal India inked with the US in September 2015 for 22 Apaches to modernise its assault capabilities to counter ground-based armoured targets and aerial threats.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/indi...tern-sector/story-WB8HnZqhEIlzpXUv2360DK.html

 

HariPrasad-1

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2016
Messages
9,573
Likes
21,017
Country flag
Let Baba Kalyani Gun Come in. It is a light weight 6 ton gun offered in SMD condition which can be assembled easily on site. We have lots of gun on offer now. Sarang, ATAGS, Israeli gun, French gun. Korean - L & T collaboration.
 

WolfPack86

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2015
Messages
10,502
Likes
16,946
Country flag
Army plans to place orders for more Excalibur ammunition for howitzers
After the government allowed the armed forces to go in for emergency procurements to do away with shortages of critical equipment, the Indian Army is planning to place an order for acquiring more Excalibur precision-guided Artillery ammunition which can hit targets at 50 km range.

The Excalibur ammunition was inducted last year by the Army to acquire the capability to hit enemy positions close to populated areas without causing collateral damage on the western sector under emergency financial powers.

"Now the financial powers have been again given to the armed forces and there are plans to place repeat orders for the Excalibur ammunition used by the Ultra Light Howitzers which can be deployed with ease on high altitude mountains," Defence sources told ANI.


After the last year's orders, the Army had started inducting the ammunition from America by October time frame and was fired at targets with pinpoint accuracy.

The development is taking place when the Chinese have also placed their artillery in rear positions along the Line of Actual Control along the Eastern Ladakh sector.

The Vice Chiefs of the three services have been given the financial powers up to Rs 500 crore per project to acquire the required weapon systems under fast track procedures needed to fill whatever shortcomings or requirement is felt.

The requirement of granting this power again to the forces was felt by the government after the Chinese aggression in Eastern Ladakh and the way they have deployed their troops in large numbers there along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Similar financial powers were given to the armed forces after the Uri attack and the Balakot aerial strikes against Pakistan.
 

Hari Sud

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2012
Messages
3,699
Likes
8,324
Country flag
Chinese watch out for deadly accuracy of Excalibur shells. Your future in Ladakh and rest of the Himalayas is limited now. Good advice for you is to go back to your pre 1962 positions or face hell unleashed by M777 and Excalibur shells.
 

WolfPack86

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2015
Messages
10,502
Likes
16,946
Country flag
From Jet To Mountain Tanks: India Speeds Up Defence Acquisitions | Battle Cry
 

Latest Replies

Global Defence

New threads

Articles

Top