New Delhi, March 20: The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by the Prime Minister has approved a deal worth about Rs 7,000 crore to acquire indigenous Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) for the army. This deal is for 307 howitzers, which have a range of 45-48 kilometers. This deal also includes 327 gun towing vehicles that deliver weapons to 15 artillery regiments of the army. The deal is expected to be signed next week, which will boost domestic capacity in the manufacture of heavy howitzers.
The Indian Army had sent a proposal to the Ministry of Defense about two years ago to buy 307 Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) for deployment on the borders with China and Pakistan. After getting the approval of the ministry, the proposal was sent to the Security Cabinet Committee for final approval. This will be the first order for the indigenous howitzer, which can hit targets at a distance of about 50 kilometers.
During the tests, day and night firing on tank-sized targets, tests for five round bursts, rapid-fire rate of 15 rounds in about three minutes and continuous firing capacity of 60 rounds every hour have been assessed. During this, high-speed trials have been conducted with navigation on sand dunes in the desert and on 70 roads.
ATAGS has been designed and developed at Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), a Pune-based laboratory of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).
DRDO has shared the technology and information of the howitzer with two private firms Tata Advanced Systems and Bharat Forge Group. Bharat Forge and Tata Advanced Systems will jointly produce the 155 mm / 52-caliber ATAGS. Bharat Forge’s share in this will be 60 percent, while Tata will produce the remaining 40 percent. According to the ministry, the ATAGS deal will be done in this financial year itself after getting approval from the CCS. Orders for ATAGS are likely to increase in future as the army plans to induct ‘more advanced versions’ for a total requirement of 1,580 such guns.
