Artillery modernisation is at a crucial threshold and needs to pick up momentum
Lt Gen. B.S. Pawar (retd)
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the conflict in the Middle East have clearly defined how future wars will be fought. The biggest fallout of these prolonged conflicts has been the death of the concept of short and swift wars/ conflicts as envisaged by militaries the world over.
In addition, the Russia-Ukraine war has thrown up some valuable and significant lessons, especially highlighting the role of firepower and no-contact battle in terms of long-range guns, rocket systems, missiles and above all, the Kamikaze drones, which are playing havoc on both sides. The recent use of Hypersonic missiles by Russia against Ukraine and by the Houthis against Israel, and the capability of these missiles to hit the intended targets by bypassing the modern air defence systems, is a major game changer—it will have a critical impact on future wars. Also to be noted is that the maximum casualties on both sides have been caused due to artillery fire power. One is reminded of the famous quote of Joseph Stalin in 1944 calling artillery the ‘God of War’ and a number of articles written on the Russia-Ukraine war reaffirming the centrality of artillery in warfare as the ‘King of Battle’.
It is, therefore, not surprising that on the 198th anniversary of Regiment of Artillery on September 28 this year, the director general artillery, while interacting with the media, highlighted these aspects and emphasised the need to have a relook at the future artillery profile with a focus on a mix of mobility and augmented long-range fire power. This also leads us to consider a very critical element in fighting such long-drawn wars, the requirement of a large quantity of ammunition of all types and its continued availability throughout the conflict. The significance of this can be gauged from the fact that Russia, despite having a robust defence industrial base, had to get artillery shells from a country like North Korea to sustain its war effort. This is a very important and crucial facet of warfare and it is heartening to note that both the government and the armed forces have involved the private sector in a big way to build this capability. The focus and thrust of modernisation remains the standardisation of the 155mm artillery gun and the introduction of new technologies like runway independent Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs), Swarm Drones and Loitering Ammunition. In light of the above factors, we need to look at the reality on the ground regarding the status of the modernisation process which was started more than two decades ago, the setbacks and the way forward.
Modernisation Status
The Indian Army’s artillery modernisation plan called ‘Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan’ (FARP) was formulated in 1999 to acquire 2800 155mm artillery guns by 2027. These 2800 guns under FARP included 1580 towed guns, 814 mounted guns, 180 wheeled self-propelled (SP) guns, 100 tracked SP guns and 145 ultra-light howitzers (ULH). The FARP saw no progress for over two decades despite numerous trials conducted during this period, especially in respect of towed gun systems—the wheeled SP project for 180 guns has since been shelved. The last modern system inducted into artillery was the controversial Bofors FH 77 155mm/39 caliber howitzer from Sweden in 1998 which played a defining role in the outcome of the Kargil conflict. The modernisation thrust finally got an impetus in the year 2018, when two modern and advanced artillery systems were inducted, the American M777 A2 ULH and the South Korean K9 Thunder tracked SP Gun System, now named the K9 Vajra-T.
However, the most crucial and critical project for the induction of 1,580 state-of-the-art Towed Gun Systems (TGS) has not made any headway despite a number of trials conducted over the last two decades with the participation of the most advanced howitzers in the world like the Israeli Elbits ATHOS and French Nexters TRAJAN. The same is also true for another important project like the Mounted Gun Systems (MGS) where the FARP had envisaged the induction of 814 guns. Indigenous projects like the Dhanush (upgraded version of Bofors gun) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) which were facing development issues over the last three years have now overcome the same, which is good news indeed. What this means is that in the most critical area of TGS, the artillery will have to continue to depend on the good old 105mm Indian Field Gun (IFG) whose technology is outdated and which has a limited range of 17 km—a very precarious situation in the present-day scenario to say the least. In view of the above facts and with the artillery profile under review, let us look at the current status of modernisation and future plans and prospects.
M777 ULH and K9 Vajra-T: 145 ULHs and 100 K9 Vajras are already in service and are effectively deployed on our Northern borders. The ULH is ideally suited for the mountainous and high altitude terrain and is capable of being airlifted under slung by Chinook helicopters. The K9 Vajra-T is being produced by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in collaboration with Korean partner Samsung Techwin. Contract has been signed for another 100 K9 Vajra-T tracked SP guns which will be provided with winterisation kits. These guns were originally meant for deployment in deserts as part of Strike Corps, but the China standoff saw them being deployed in Ladakh with the help of winterisation kits. Induction of another 100 guns is also on the cards in the future—this will offset the 180 wheeled SP guns shelved.
Towed Gun Systems: The last trial conducted for induction of the modern TGS involved five years of rigorous testing culminating in 2019 with the Elbit’s ATHOS gun being declared the winner due to a lower quoted price, though Nexter’s TRAJAN gun system had also met all the trial perimeters. The significant feature of these trials was the involvement of major private sector defence companies like Bharat Forge and L&T who tied up with Israel’s Elbit and French Nexter for the project respectively. Unfortunately, despite the successful trials, the project was shelved by the government citing aatmanirbharta and focus on indigenous development and manufacture—the final death knell was dealt by bringing all guns and howitzers in the no-import list of defence equipment by the government.
However, there is light at the end of the tunnel and as per reports a fresh request for proposal (RFP) has been issued by the army for 400 TGS. The bids are expected soon with only Indian defence companies, both private and public, allowed to bid but can collaborate with a foreign vendor with the caveat of 70 per cent indigenous content. It is ironical indeed that we may once again see Bharat Forge and L&T collaborate with Elbit and Nexter respectively for this venture. The total numbers of TGS have also been reduced to 1,200 from the earlier 1580 possibly due to profile review.
MGS: Similarly, RFP has also been issued for procurement of 814 MGS and the bids from private and public sector companies are expected soon, some in collaboration with foreign vendors. The MGS is basically a gun that is mounted on a high mobility vehicle, allowing it to be quickly deployed, fired and repositioned. Some of the likely bidders like Bharat Forge, Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), DRDO and L&T have already displayed these systems during the defence exhibitions held in India. It is also likely that some of the private vendors may tie up with manufacturers of the existing state-of-the-art MGS like BAE systems ‘Archer’ and French ‘Caesar’. This is certainly a very positive development as the concept of ‘Shoot and Scoot’ is an essential feature of modern-day guns for their survival in an intense battlefield environment.
Indigenous Developments: On the indigenous front, Dhanush, the upgraded Bofors gun, an Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) project and ATAGS, which was facing some developmental issues that have since been rectified, are ready for production. Indent for 114 Dhanush guns was already placed on the OFB earlier in 2019, but so far only 18 Dhanush guns have been received. Now, with the production recommencing, the remaining guns are likely to be delivered by 2026 end as claimed by the OFB. The fact, however, to be kept in mind is that Dhanush is an upgraded version and cannot compare with the present-day modern gun systems in technology and range.
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