Dhanush to end Indian Army's gun drought

The end of Army's gun drought is in sight as the government on Saturday cleared decks for the long stuck purchase of ultra-light howitzers from the US and Dhanush, the much delayed "desi" Bofors, is getting ready to fire.

LONG TIME COMING

India has not bought a new piece of artillery since the Bofors inducted in the 1987 was caught in the corruption fire. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), in its meeting on Saturday, approved procurement of 145 M-777 light guns from the United States of America.

The contract for these guns, meant to be deployed in the forward locations across the China border, had been hanging for around 12 years. A defence ministry official said that these guns, which will be acquired for $750 million, will be delivered in India to reduce the transportation cost substantially.

Ultra light howitzers can easily be carried in helicopters as under slung load and transported to high altitude areas along the India-China border where the Army is raising a new strike corps.

THE PATH FORWARD

Under the plan, 25 guns will be supplied directly from the US and the rest will be assembled in India at a facility being set up by Mahindra.

India had sent a letter of request to the US government for the purchase of these guns. After going through the response by the US government, New Delhi approved the Letter of Acceptance to be sent back for completing the purchase. The DAC also cleared road map for the induction of Dhanush, the local version of Bofor guns.

Dhanush is based on the designs provided in the 1980s at the time of the purchase of Bofors FHB02 guns. It took three decades for the government to pull out these designs and start production in India.

A defence ministry official said that three Dhanush guns will be provided to the Army by June 30 and another three by September end for use. It will be followed by supply of another 18 guns leading to the final production by the Ordinance Factory Board (OFB) for the bulk orders by the Army.

MODERNIZATION OF THE ARMY

The extensive design of Dhanush was received as part of Transfer of Technology (ToT) clause signed with the purchase of Bofors in the 1980s. The long delays in procurements had severely affected Army's fire power.

The Army's artillery modernization plan sees induction of a mix of canons included mounted, towed, self propelled and wheeled guns costing more than one lakh crore rupees. Dhanush is an indigenous answer to fill the requirement.

The gun has performed well during trials leading to the final run beginning this month end. There are several improvements that have been in the Dhanush. For instance, the gun has a longer range of 38 km as against the 27-km of Bofors.

And, it automatically changes targeting systems to adopt to changes in ammunition and atmospheric pressures. Besides, the gunner has a high resolution sight which includes infrared that helps better targeting at night.

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