AIMING FOR INDEPENDENCE

The outcome of wars has been influenced by artillery for centuries. It retains its importance on the battlefield, as the conflict in Ukraine shows. Despite Indian artillery proving its mettle in the 1999 Kargil war, the Indian military has been short of firepower for over three decades. Corruption allegations over the procurement of the Bofors guns certainly had a paralysing effect on the modernisation of Indian artillery. But, finally, things seem to be back on track, as the army actively looks at adding more modern firepower to its artillery regiments. The focus is now on procuring these long-distance destroyers through the Make in India route.

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Since its standoff with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China in eastern Ladakh from May 2020, the army has deployed its entire range of artillery guns on the northern border, including the newly inducted K9 Vajra of Indian-South Korean make and the US-made M777 ultra-light howitzers. The M777s were procured through the foreign military sale route; the K9 Vajras were made in India by L&T. The induction of 100 pieces of the Vajra was done under a 2017 contract worth $720 million. The K9 Vajra-T is a variant of the South Korean K9 Thunder, considered by experts to be the world's best 155mm/ 52 calibre self-propelled howitzer in terms of the number of systems in active service. Though the K9 Vajras, delivered in 2018, were initially meant for deserts or plains, during the Ladakh standoff the army had to move these guns to forward locations on the icy heights. Artillery regiments had to procure anti-freeze winterisation kits to protect the guns' oil, lubricants and batteries at -30°C and even lower temperatures to ensure they function properly. However, the guns held up well. Now, the defence ministry has started the process for the procurement of 100 more K9 Vajras. An MOD official lets on that th