With the arrival of two M-777 ultra-light howitzer(UlH) guns here on Thursday, the Army is all set to acquire a modern artillery gun from the US after a gap of 30 years since the Bofors guns controversy. India and the US had signed the Government to Government deal for 145 howitzers last year worth over 737 million dollars(Rs2,400 crore).
The two guns, which arrived here, will fire 155mm ammunition and will go through pre-induction trials in Rajasthan next month. As per the contract, firing tables and range of the guns to be deployed in the mountain regions facing China will be calibrated during the trials. Following this process, three more guns will arrive in September and the formal induction will begin in March with five guns coming to the Army every month. The entire acquisition process of the 155mm\39calibre guns is likely to be over by June 2021, officials said here.
Giving details of the delivery schedule, the officials said that India will acquire 24 guns off the shelf and the remaining howitzers capable of hitting targets ranging from 24 to 40 km will be assembled in India by private sector company Mahindra and Mahindra. The first two guns were brought to New Delhi in a chartered transport plane, they added.
The M-777 howitzers manufactured by BAE systems are light weight as they are manufactured of titanium and can be airlifted to inaccessible mountains of on the Eastern and Western fronts facing China in a short time. Most of the M-777 howitzers will form part of the Mountain Strike Corps now under raising for meeting any challenge from China.
Incidentally, the Defence Ministry last week inked another deal worth over Rs4,366 crores with larsen and Toubro for supply of 100 self-propelled howitzers. The private sector company will manufacture these 155mm\52 calibre tracked artillery guns called K-9Vajra-T in collaboration with South Korean firm Hanwha Tech Win and all the gins will be delivered to the Army within 42 months of singing the deal. These guns can fire beyond 45 kms and will move on tank-type tracks to accompany tanks and mechanised regiments to battle.
The Army was facing an acute shortage of modern artillery guns capable of firing long range for the last guns as acquisition came to a halt in the wake of the Bofors gun controversy in 1986. The Army’s artillery modernisation plan envisages procuring 2,800 guns by 2027. The plan included procuring 1,580 towed guns, 814 truck-mounted guns, 100 tracked self-propelled guns, 180 wheeled self-propelled guns and 145 ultra-light howitzers.