The Indian Army’s artillery modernization, which suffered setbacks several times after a series of corruption scandals hit the foreign vendors, has finally found an indigenous solution. These indigenous big guns secured orders from a Middle Eastern country and the US before finding their way into the Indian Army.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by the Prime Minister of India has given its nod to the acquisition of Advanced Towed Artillery Gun Systems (ATAGS) worth Rs 7,000 crore ($850M). The deal will be signed next week and jointly executed by Bharat Forge, a subsidiary of Kalyani Strategics and Tata Advanced Systems.
A total of 307 guns and 327 towing vehicles will be purchased. Out of this, 60 percent will go to Bharat Forge and 40 percent to Tata Advanced Systems.
The guns have already been exported, most probably to Saudi Arabia. In a regulatory filing, Bharat Forge, part of the Kalyani Group, said this order is for a “non-conflict zone.” The company also said the order for the 155 mm artillery gun platform will be executed over three years.
At IDEX 2025, an agreement was signed with the US to supply mounted, towed, and ultra-light gun systems in 105mm and 155mm calibers.
However, the Indian Army’s decision to induct these guns came after a long delay. As per the Indian Army’s Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan (FARP), conceived in 1999, the plans were laid out to acquire 2,800 155mm artillery guns by 2027. The procurement process has been so slow that the Indian Army received a rap from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
The CAG report in 2023 pointed out that the program has been crawling along at a pace that could make a snail look like a sprinter. The CAG report said that by 2023, only 8 percent of the target 2,800 guns had been purchased.
In 1944, when World War II was at its peak, Joseph Stalin said, ‘Artillery is the God of War.’ Artillery plays an important role in suppressing and countering the enemy’s firepower, taking out adversaries’ high-value targets while aiding their own troops’ movement.
The Russia-Ukraine war has once again underscored the relevance of artillery on the battlefield. The Indian Army also revealed that it was working towards modernizing and standardizing artillery.
In September 2024, the Indian Army’s Director General of Artillery, Lt Gen Adosh Kumar, informed journalists that the Army had taken several steps to counter the supply chain issues caused by the Russia-Ukraine war while also carrying out the ‘mediumization’ of guns. By 2042, 155mm guns will be the standard caliber of all artillery guns, he said.
Imported Guns And The Blacklisting Jinx
The 1971 operations in Bangladesh revealed a gap in the Indian Army’s artillery capability. Even then, the Army’s primary guns were mostly 25-pounders with a range of 12km. This forced the Indian research establishment to design 105-mm Indian field guns to replace them. The guns were ready by 1978.
The Indian Army’s firepower received a major boost with the induction of Swedish 155 mm Field Howitzers in the 1980s. However, the deal was marred by allegations of bribery. The guns did prove their mettle in the Kargil war, as they were instrumental in pushing the Pakistani intruders back from the occupied heights in Kargil.
However, this also did not bring the artillery modernization back on track. Most of the big gun manufacturers were blacklisted. The Indian Ministry of Defense blacklisted Denel from South Africa and Singapore Technology over bribery allegations.
For three decades, no gun was imported, and the Indian Army undertook refurbishment of its 130 mm guns with Soltam of Israel. However, Soltam exited the process midway, and the Ordnance Factory Board refurbished the guns.
The first guns to be imported were the 155mm M777 Ultra-Light Howitzers of US origin. These were a critical requirement for the Indian Army’s Mountain divisions. A total of 145 light howitzers were ordered through the government-to-government route.
The Big Guns In The Indian Army
Presently, the Indian Army has several big guns in its inventory.
It has the 155mm/45 Caliber Dhanush Gun System manufactured by the Gun Carriage Factory, Jabalpur. It was one of the first indigenous gun systems in the Indian Army. It is an electronic upgrade of the Bofors Gun system. Plans are afoot to induct 400 such guns in the future. So far, orders for 114 guns have been given. Induction of this gun system is currently in progress.
The 155mm/45 Caliber Sharang Gun System is also in the inventory.
In addition, in December 2024, the Defense Ministry inked a Rs 7,629 crore ($900M) contract with Larsen and Toubro (L&T) in collaboration with South Korean Hanwha Defence to procure another 100K-9 Vajra-T self-propelled tracked gun systems.
They have a strike range of 28-38 km and can be deployed in high-altitude areas along the Chinese frontier. The K-9 is armed with a 155mm/52 caliber gun.
These 100 guns will be in addition to the 100 K9 Vajras in the inventory.
Plans are afoot to acquire towed guns of 155mm/52 caliber. These will be the mainstay of artillery and will replace most of the older vintage guns. However, an RFP for these guns is yet to be issued.
