Artillery Modernisation Hits Roadblocks

ARTILLERY MODERNISATION

- LT GEN BS PAWAR (RETD)

INTRODUCTION

On the 195th Gunners Day celebrated on September 28, 2021, the Director General Artillery's message was stark and clear that the government needs to expedite and fast track the Artillery's modernization plan which is presently stagnating and faltering.

The two major indigenous towed gun projects, the 155mm/45 caliber 'Dhanush' gun (upgraded version of the erstwhile Bofors) developed by OFB, and the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) developed by DRDO in conjunction with two private sector entities are facing major developmental issues and are running way behind schedule. This, despite the hand holding and regular meetings being held by the Army with both DRDO and OFB for the success of these indigenous projects, the ultimate aim being to induct a reliable and robust gun that is capable of firing accurately.

The biggest setback in this modernization process has been due to the government scrapping the most crucial project involving the induction of 1,580 modern, state-of the-art 155mm/52 caliber towed howitzers. The long-drawn trials and evaluations for this project were finally concluded in February 2019, with the Israeli Elbit's ATHOS gun emerging as a clear winner being L1, though the other contender, the French Nexters TRAJAN gun was equally compatible.

The Army's Artillery modernization plan for the induction of approximately 3,000 modern artillery howitzers finalized in 1999 had actually seen no progress for over two decades. However, it got an impetus in 2018, when two modern and advanced artillery systems were inducted, the American M777 A2 Ultra Light Howitzer (ULH) and the South Korean K9 Thunder Tracked Self Propelled (SP) gun system, now named the K9 Vajra-T- the last modern system inducted into artillery was the controversial Bofors FH 77 155mm/39 caliber howitzer from Sweden in 1998.