Significance
|
- In the aftermath of the Kargil War of 1999 India announced its Artillery Rationalisation Programme
- India has a 2-front porous border of 7000-odd kms and 4000-odd kms with China and Pakistan respectively.
- The operational requirement to fight a 2-front war is 3000-odd artillery guns in addition to aerial weapons, precision-guided weapons, multi-barrel rocket launches etc.
- The categories of artillery systems include
- Long-range guns of towed variety
- Self-propelled guns mounted on a high-mobility vehicle (K9 Vajra)
- Light howitzers for difficult mountainous terrains. (M777 howitzers)
|
Dhanush
|
- 1st indigenously produced long-range artillery gun.
- The 155mm 45 caliber long-range artillery gun
- 2 varieties
- Towed-variety
- Self-propelled mounted gun system variety
- 6-round magazine.
- Capable of firing 60 rounds in 60 minutes.
- Maximum firing range of 38 km in the plain areas
|
K9 Vajra T Guns
|
- South Korean long-range artillery gun in the self-propelled mounted gun category.
- It has a range of 28-38 km.
- 155-mm, 52-calibre
- 1st ever-artillery gun that will be manufactured by private sector in India with L & T India manufacturing 90 of them.
- Capable of ‘burst firing’ meaning which it can fire 3 rounds in 30 seconds
|
M777 Ultra Light Howitzers
|
- 155-mm, 39-calibre towed medium artillery gun.
- Maximum range of 30 km.
- Light artillery guns with a weight of 4 tonnes
- Capable of being air lifted by Chinook helicopters.
- Thus M777 can be deployed in mountainous terrains devoid of roads & tracks.
|
Sharang
|
- Indigenous Artillery Gun
- 155 mm
- Range: Increased from 12 km to 39 km
|
Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System
|
- 155mm, 52-calibre gun-howitzer.
- It is capable of firing at both low angle like a gun and high angle like a howitzer
- Range: 45 Km
- World’s only gun with a six-round automated magazine.
- High “burst fire” capability in that it can fire six-round burst in just 30 seconds.
- Other features
- all-electric drive
- high mobility
- quick deployability
- auxiliary power mode
- Automated command and control system
- India’s Artillery Combat Command and Control System is named ‘Shakti’
|