Final trials of home-grown artillery gun start this month

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 3

The final trials of indigenous artillery gun Dhanush will start this month. Spread over the next six months, these trials will be of a production-level prototype. This is supposed to be the last lap of trials before the Ordnance Factory Board starts it bulk production.

The Army will use six such guns at various locations to test its firing ability during summers and also in the winters in the Himalayas.

Dhanush 155 MM/45 calibre gun is based on the 1980’s Bofors FH-77B/39 Calibre artillery gun design and aided by the transfer of technology (ToT) clause signed in the 1980’s with the Swedish company. The OFB, an organisation under the Ministry of Defence, first unveiled the Indian version of the gun in February 2014 and hand it over to the Army for intensive tests. These were successfully conducted.

The first three guns of the production-level prototype will undergo four-month trial from June to September. Between October and December, three other guns will be added and the entire lot will be tested in high altitude winter conditions.

The MoD has set a stiff delivery schedule. The first 18 guns will be delivered in 18 months after the signing of contract. Another 36 guns are slated for delivery over the 12 months thereafter. The remaining 60 guns will be delivered by June 2020.

The Indian version has several improvements to make Dhanush compatible with today’s modern communication techniques. It has an effective range of 38 km as against the 27-km range of the original Bofors. It has a system to auto-correct any variations in ammunition and atmospheric pressures. The gunner has a high resolution sight besides an infrared sight. Its electronics suite enables real-time adjustments for moving and static targets. The Army’s Field Artillery Rationalization Plan, drawn in 1999, aims to acquire 2,800-3,000 155 mm/52-calibre guns of all kinds and 155 mm/39-calibre lightweight howitzers by 2027.

The next batch of Dhanush will be in line with this target and its barrel for the next batch will be 52 calibre.