Artillery Corps: News & Discussion

[drnayar]

https://x.com/AjayshreeSamby3/status/19 ... 2327153707 --->
₹5,000 crore for just 145 M777 *VS* ₹6,900 crore for 307 ATAGS + 327 GTV.

The full blown benefits of self reliance in defence.

wow !!

[A Deshmukh]

M777 is made of titanium (light weight). Not a real comparison.
M777 should be compared with Bharat Forge version of titanium guns. I hope there will be order for that too in the long run.

[pravula]

....
Sometime I really wish the unthinkable, a war on India to teach us the required lessons, because we certainly are the idiots who are refusing to learn by watching a live war burning a country down since 2022. (Ukraine).

Khalsa ji, haven't we gone through at least 4 hot wars?

Thats the problem. Those wars were short and intense, which is what our forces are predicting. A long drawn war (like Ukraine or WW1 or WW2) would require a strong local MIC

[V_Raman]

My take away from Ukraine - our #1 priority should be domestic MIC for ammunitions and drones/UAVs. We can import capital platforms like planes etc.

[Tanaji]

Khalsa ji, haven't we gone through at least 4 hot wars?

Thats the problem. Those wars were short and intense, which is what our forces are predicting. A long drawn war (like Ukraine or WW1 or WW2) would require a strong local MIC

Our artillery and mech forces generals are so utterly shameless that if a long drawn war does come to pass , they will eventually put in an order to desi MIC and expect it to be fulfilled in 1 month. And when it doesnt promptly whine that Indian MIC is incompetent

[srai]

^^^
12 - 36 months lead times (worldwide standard)

IA/IAF still don’t get it.

Ofcourse, they have the “emergency” backdoor to import a buffet of bits and bobs of someone’s fancy

[Khalsa]

....
Sometime I really wish the unthinkable, a war on India to teach us the required lessons, because we certainly are the idiots who are refusing to learn by watching a live war burning a country down since 2022. (Ukraine).

Khalsa ji, haven't we gone through at least 4 hot wars?

Agree Sir and we buried our only defeat in these 4 so deep that I have to wait for Trump to become the prime minister so that the the Hendersen-Brooks-Bhagat report can be released. Now that report and its lessons are not even available to the next crop of IA and IAF officers to learn from.

The only other country who has divorced itself from similar learnings out of defeat is Pakistan after the 71 war.
65, 71 and 99 don't teach us much. I humbly believe that we learn more out of our failures.


China and Soviet Union (Russia) studied much the various gulf wars especially China and slowly threw away their old techniques and have become more adaptive to the current century.

[Khalsa]

Khalsa ji, haven't we gone through at least 4 hot wars?

Thats the problem. Those wars were short and intense, which is what our forces are predicting. A long drawn war (like Ukraine or WW1 or WW2) would require a strong local MIC

You nailed it Saar.
Now imagine a protracted 4 year war with China only in Ladakh and Arunachal.
Sikkim is held but the other two are under stress and we can't dislodge the Chinese immediately and have to enter a protracted war with declining revenue due to zero trade with China.

We need our own MIC.

[bala]

In this YT Snehesh A. Philip talks to Lt. Gen P. R. Shankar (retd) on 307 ATAGS (advanced towed artillery gun system) with 52 (length) x 155mm and 25 litre charge chamber (chamber can take up to 7 charges) gun order. 300 guns are for 15 army regiments, 7 for other purposes.

youtube.com/watch?v=nd1SERSPNxs

Herein Lt. Gen P. R. Shankar claims that the Indian Army had technical issues with Smerch firing from Russia and eventually Russia was able to solve the issue. So much for videshi maal adopted without a sqeal by IA.

Lt. Gen P. R. Shankar talks about success in the indigenous programs that he was involved in during his tenure in IA. The indigenous Program started in 2010. He adds additional stuff that was inducted like SWATI the weapons locating radar that India developed (which is much better than the maal the US was willing to offer). At IIT-M they are developing artillery ammo with ram-jet propulsion (trials in devalali).

On weight: BOFORs is 12 tonnes. ATAGs is around 19 tonnes, IA wanted it to be 15 tonnes. This is the First GUN after 1984 for IA which is indigenous IDDM. Dhanush is indigenous. He talks about PSQR (provisional staff QR) vs GSQR (general staff qualitative requirement) and ATAGs were developed with DRDO using PSQR. Pinaka system weight was reduced by 3.5 tonnes after initial order, so that is why induction is in stages. Similarly, he is hopeful that the weight will eventually be brought down after usage experience by the IA.

Please view this YT since it has valuable information from the IA perspective.

[suryag]

he might have accomplished a lot(when compared with others) makes many valid points(some times the points are lost in the ridicule or his way of delivery though)
1. Lets look at what he is talking about - very appreciative of ATAGS order for 307, something that he mentions repeatedly is the ability to ensure you hit the production numbers. I hope Kalyani and Tata have more seasoned production managers who have perhaps thought through the supply chain issues and are in control. The second part comes in about expendables, he talks about zone5,6 charges being available however, zone7 charge is the one that gives ATAGS its USP of firing to 48km. I hope we have enough of zone7 charge secured across the board so that it can be used without constraint. The next part which he left unstated is the maintenance chain for these guns. with KSSL and Tata both making it, I hope the IA has thought through the maintenance contract for the 307 or it will be(in his words) an Arjun
2. Consider now the Dhanush and yes we were wondering why only 114, well turns out AWEIL was not able to deliver even half of it until 2025. Again it goes back to "chalta hai", the contract was signed in 2013 or 14. Spares not there etc etc. I wish this was also handed over to some other company but may be AWEIL has turned over a new chapter, hope they deliver atleast 50 guns by 2026

Also we need to get serious about Defence production, look at this https://www.ddpmod.gov.in/ministry/our-team, additional secretary(for DP) is vacant and so is joint secretary(aero). How can critical decisions and files move forward without these folks being there.

Why Shri Manohar Parrikar succeeded - first of all he was an engineer, but of far more greater significance was he owned and ran a factory that made hydraullics equipment, so the man was intimately aware of production and supply chain. It was a cruel stroke to India that we lost him early. Am pretty sure he would have taken us to unforeseen heights had he been there.

All in all what we have now graduated to is world beater prototypes and we have to now graduate to producing it at a world class rate

[uddu]

Cross posting from Manufacturing thread
Bharat Forge: Artillery of India | The Chanakya Dialogues Major Gaurav Arya | DefTech |


The 8 ton ULH-ER can also be seen along with ULH
https://indiandefenseanalysis.wordpress ... r-dhanush/
Bharat forge has also developed an Ultra-Light Howitzer for armed forces which is called Bharat ULH-ER. It is a 155mm/52 caliber artillery gun & weighs less than 8 tons. The gun can be easily deployed at high altitude region with digital fire control. It has an impressive range of 41km. The gun is highly reliable with low maintenance cost. The gun has impressive firepower with rate of fire of 3 rounds in 30 seconds in burst mode, 12 rounds in 3 minutes in intense mode and 42 rounds in 60 minutes in sustained mode.

Major Gaurav Arya mentioning it can fire upto 50km at high altitude.

[ramana]

For the sake of completeness posting the full text of the article on Dhanush
BW Defence Week

https://bwdefence.com/article/dhanush-a ... ion-422579

by Vishal Thapar

11 March 2022

Three years after the Dhanush artillery gun was handed over to the Indian Army, the Indian-made follow-on of the Swedish Bofors 155 mm howitzer finally cleared the “confidence firing” tests at Pokhran on March 8. This paves the way for the formal induction of the first indigenous 155 mm artillery gun into the Army.

The coming good of Dhanush will provide relief and momentum to India’s artillery modernisation programme, which requires Made in India efforts to deliver quickly after the Government’s recent decision to stop import of weapon systems, including artillery guns.

Repeated incidents of muzzle break hits had prevented the operationalisation of this 155 mm 45 calibre weapon and delayed the artillery modernisation programme. A muzzle break hit occurs when the shell damages the front end of the barrel when fired instead of passing through it cleanly.

For over a decade, the Indian Army has patiently hand-held the effort of the Gun Carriage Factory to develop the gun and “iron out” what it termed as “a few teething issues”.

“Reliability Firing (2 Second line firing) of Dhanush Gun completed today at Pokhran Field Firing Range successfully. 2 guns fired 90 rounds each (including 35 rounds with Zone 6) flawlessly. All decks cleared for formal induction,” acknowledged Additional Secretary Defence Production Sanjay Jaju.

The first lot of 6 Dhanush guns out of the 114 ordered by the Army were handed over to the Army in 2019. Subsequently, 11 more guns have been delivered. But the induction and operationalisation has been stalled by the recurring problem of muzzle hits.

Dhanush has been developed on the basis of transfer of technology (ToT) documents provided by Bofors along with the 1986 deal. But due to the controversy over alleged payment of bribes to secure the deal, the ToT element was not actioned.

About 2010, the erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) decided to develop a follow-on version of the FH-77 Bofors gun using the know-how gleaned from the ToT documents and using its experience of up-gunning older artillery guns.

The Dhanush was developed for a longer strike range of 38 km as compared to 27 km of the old Bofors, which had a 155 mm 39 calibre barrel. The range extension required a longer barrel ((45 calibre) and a modified double baffle muzzle brake (MDBMB) system to limit the stress on the structure to 155/39 levels. A design flaw which was resulting in muzzle hits has now been corrected, and its reliability validated through the second round of reliability tests.

Ninety rounds were fired from each of the two guns fielded for the two-phase Reliability Trials at the Pokhran Field Firing Range in Rajasthan. Additional Secretary Jaju acknowledged that all requirements were validated in the trials.

The rate of fire is stated to be 3 rounds in 15 seconds for bursts, 15 rounds in 3 minutes for intense firing and 45 rounds in one hour for sustained firing. The weight of the Dhanush is 13 tons, which is 700 kg more than that of Bofors FH-77. The barrel is 877 mm longer. Over 5,500 rounds are reported to have been fired from this gun in various rounds of trials.

Besides longer range, the Gun Carriage Factory claims superiority of the Dhanush over the Bofors on many other counts. Among the new features is an auto-laying system based on the Fire Control Computer System as compared to the manual system of the old Bofors Gun. The gun has an Advanced Gun Sighting System with a day camera (CCD), night camera, laser range finder (LRF) and NFOV and WFOV, officials explained. Bofors only has optical day and night sight.

Dhanush also has an on-board Advanced Tactical Computer for targeting. For the Bofors FH-77, ballistic calculations had to be done at the command post. It also has an Inertial Navigation System (INS) and GPS for guidance.

[A Sharma]

Europe choosing Indian guns? Bharat Forge says it supplied artillery guns to Europe before delivering them to Indian Army

[Rakesh]

https://x.com/AjayshreeSamby3/status/19 ... 2327153707 --->
₹5,000 crore for just 145 M777 *VS* ₹6,900 crore for 307 ATAGS + 327 GTV.

The full blown benefits of self reliance in defence.

https://x.com/Tej_Intel/status/1905651558039109693 ---> Fun fact: the desired offset from the M777 deal has still not been discharged by BAE Systems.

[SRajesh]

^^ This offset clause is just a "Abracadabra'
I dont know how much the local MIC have benefitted with such investment
Either they too low end or just don’t materialise or takes decades to kick in.

[bala]

If this is true, it is quite telling on the IA procurement team.

https://x.com/abhirammodak/status/1907885487366484471

Pune based Bharat Forge says it supplied artillery guns to Europe before delivering them to Indian Army.

[Aditya_V]

I don't think IA procurement team can make independent decisions, it shows how deep the international network in India is, if Ashok Swain OCI issue shows. This is a generational fight across the board

[A Deshmukh]

I know we have some big ticket exports like Brahmos, Akash, ATAGs, as well as ammunition.
but wondering how much % is Offset exports? meaning how much purchases are done by US, France, etc, from whom we are importing Rafales, P8I, etc.

[VinodTK]

Why the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System is Revolutionary for Indian Army? I GD Bakshi Explains / exposes the bad things that have been going on in the IA, concerning Artillery.

Why the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System is Revolutionary for Indian Army? I GD Bakshi Explains
Lt. Gen. (Retd.) G.D. Bakshi delves into the significance of the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) and its revolutionary impact on the Indian Army. With the induction of the ATAGS, the Indian Army is set to modernize its artillery capabilities significantly. Gen. Bakshi highlights that the ATAGS, a state-of-the-art 155/52 millimeter gun, will enhance the firepower, accuracy, and mobility of the artillery regiments, offering a major strategic advantage. He explains how the ATAGS addresses the long-standing need for advanced artillery in India, allowing the Army to maintain a competitive edge in modern warfare. According to Gen. Bakshi, the system’s induction is a crucial step towards achieving operational efficiency, ensuring that the Indian Army is better equipped to face emerging threats in the region. His expert insights make clear that the ATAGS is not just a technological upgrade but a game-changer for the future of Indian defense strategy.

[Ankit Desai]

AoN issued for 105mm/37cal Mounted Gun System (Paradroppable)

https://x.com/alpha_defense/status/1910609862343483552

-Ankit

[srin]

^^ I don't know if the 105mm light gun is relevant anymore. I've been following the Ukraine conflict and it looks like anything till around 10km is taken over by FPV drones.

[Aditya_V]

Motors and 105 mm and BM 21 rockets are used by all, Both sides have exhausted stockpiles hence Drones are used more

[srai]

^^^
Ukraine is making 4.5 million drones a year. Same with Russia they are also producing millions.

In many instances, drones are much more effective/efficient. Increasing use of AI maximizing its efficacy. Every iteration FPV drones can reach further and further.

Things are changing. Traditional artillery are geared more of an area weapon and some with some degree of accuracy at much longer ranges.

[Manish_P]

The costs also are an important factor

A basic drone costs much less as compared to an artillery shell, without even taking into account the cost of the howitzer (and it's components)

[Tanaji]

A shell will also deliver more explosive, faster and without interception obviously. In the end you get what you pay for…

[chetak]

https://x.com/AjayshreeSamby3/status/19 ... 2327153707 --->
₹5,000 crore for just 145 M777 *VS* ₹6,900 crore for 307 ATAGS + 327 GTV.

The full blown benefits of self reliance in defence.

https://x.com/Tej_Intel/status/1905651558039109693 ---> Fun fact: the desired offset from the M777 deal has still not been discharged by BAE Systems.

Rakesh saar,


"offset" can literally mean anything


one renowned "supplier", to complete their "offset" commitments, made tin boxes in India and did some sort of low level JV with a local politician's relative and called it LRU case or enclosure that could be populated as desired by any manufacturer

it was a self described versatile product that some how sank without a trace.

[chetak]

I don't think IA procurement team can make independent decisions, it shows how deep the international network in India is, if Ashok Swain OCI issue shows. This is a generational fight across the board

Aditya_V ji,

such teams are among the lowest in the food chain

weapons are not just a simple choice of system A Vs system B, as many here seem to imagine it to be .... and BTW, neither are FTAs because many discussions take place far away from the lime light, and the trade-offs there will come back to bite you in the butt when least expected.

It is often a geopolitical decision with trade offs that remain under wraps for obvious reasons and corruption isn't the driving force

Ultimately, the binding discussions would take place only at the very highest levels, and the rest are simply there to partake of the buffet

The lease of the nuke sub from the russkis is one such example

It whose interest would it be, to announce in public, the terms and conditions governing such a deal

[Manish_P]

A shell will also deliver more explosive, faster and without interception obviously. In the end you get what you pay for…

Yes, but not all targets need that much explosive power. A lesser explosive power accurately delivered can still result in a mission-kill. Or at the very least to make the target go on the defensive.

And they are good at going after moving targets.

Traditionally artillery has been used to pound an area with the expectation that some of the shells will hit the target/s in that area.

Advances in observation and targetting elements (including drones) meant that artillery could be directed more accurately. GPS/precision guided shells meant fewer munitions were required. The drones which were near the start of the kill chain have gradually evolved into being near the end part as well.

Doesn't mean that they have replaced artillery and all its mission profiles entirely.

All weapons have their advantages and their limitations.The ability and capabilities of the user is often the differentiator.

[ernest]

AoN issued for 105mm/37cal Mounted Gun System (Paradroppable)

https://x.com/alpha_defense/status/1910609862343483552

-Ankit

So, looks like Kalyani's Garuda will receive orders. I don't know any other mounted 105mm system that comes close to it. Would be a good signal for those investing in their own IDDM products.

[bala]

In the context of reports coming in from Op Sindoor that Chinese 155 mm guns have failed in firings across the LOC and that Paks resorted to bring their older guns into action, Lt. Gen P R Shankar explains the philosphy of artillery in IA. The many choices made since 2000 and more so in 2010, Indian artillery is in good shape. Shankar provides a complete history of artillery and its acquisition for IA - M777, Vajra, Dhanush, Sharang, ATAGs. The ammo picture is also very good in India. Today Bharat Forge, L&T and Tata are part of the supply chain.

In mountains, there is no shoot and scoot. Guns are deployed dug in. Ammo weight is around 50 kg with packing around 100 kg. There are supplies upto 200 of these. 6-9 people are involved per gun. So, in mountains, it is irregular deployment based on good hiding spots and adequate protection. The sub-surface is usually loose and getting heavy equipment is tricky. Towed guns are more suitable, the lighter the better.

SOME THOUGHTS ON ARTILLERY - Gunner's Shot YT

[ashishvikas]

When ATAGS deliveries would start ? [I know, contract was inked just a few months back.. but still.]

[konaseema]

Typically almost all defense deliveries start between 24 to 36 months from when the contract was inked.

[Tanaji]

The interview posted above with Lt Gen Shankar is a must watch for anyone following artillery developments. The good general provides details on why they decided to go for the guns they have. I feel that the interviewer Snehasish was quite deferential and he should have pushed a bit more on Athos and Nexter guns. The general was side stepping it saying both guns had issues hence wasnt chosen. Yet there have been persistent efforts to bring the Athos back - wasnt the TGS RFP made into 15 tons to fit that gun? The general doesnt rule out Athos coming back in if it improves as a part of the TGS tender. This would mean it has to tie up with Tata, Kalyani or L&T.

The general also mentions that MGS cant be used in mountains and it would be a mistake to use it there as guns are always dug in. I didnt quite follow why though. In this age of WLRs and suicide drones fixed positions would be exposed? But I am sure there is a good reason…

[Nalla Baalu]

I recall the general provided multiple disadvantages of MGS compared to towed counterparts for mountainous operations:
- an ideal siting for groups of six MGS guns is comparitively difficult given their footprint
- issues of turn-radius/maneuverability of MGS on hill road switchbacks
- MGS has gun mated to truck and truck faults render the gun unusable until repair (cannot scoot)

....

The general also mentions that MGS cant be used in mountains and it would be a mistake to use it there as guns are always dug in. I didnt quite follow why though. In this age of WLRs and suicide drones fixed positions would be exposed? But I am sure there is a good reason…

[Luit]

In the context of reports coming in from Op Sindoor that Chinese 155 mm guns have failed in firings across the LOC and that Paks resorted to bring their older guns into action, Lt. Gen P R Shankar explains the philosphy of artillery in IA. The many choices made since 2000 and more so in 2010, Indian artillery is in good shape. Shankar provides a complete history of artillery and its acquisition for IA - M777, Vajra, Dhanush, Sharang, ATAGs. The ammo picture is also very good in India. Today Bharat Forge, L&T and Tata are part of the supply chain.

In mountains, there is no shoot and scoot. Guns are deployed dug in. Ammo weight is around 50 kg with packing around 100 kg. There are supplies upto 200 of these. 6-9 people are involved per gun. So, in mountains, it is irregular deployment based on good hiding spots and adequate protection. The sub-surface is usually loose and getting heavy equipment is tricky. Towed guns are more suitable, the lighter the better.

Lt. Gen. P. R. Shankar (Retd) at some point during the interview buttresses his authoritative statements like “sound planning/operation philosophy” of the Indian Army Artillery Corps was validated by it’s outstanding performance during the Kargil War. However, not everything was hunky dory, the outstanding performance was due to the brilliance of Major General Lakhwinder Singh (Retd) and his men. Back then, the Indian Army was woefully short of modern guns; only 400 odd FH-77s were in service. Moreover, the Kargil war was localized to Kargil, Dras and Battalik. The Artillery Corps would have been woefully short of modern large caliber guns had a full scale war broken out.

In fact, Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan [FARP] was conceived from the lessons learnt during the Kargil War. Sadly, it is revealed that this plan too was trash canned by the ‘Big Shots’. What have we got for doing so? What have we inducted during the past 25 years? 7 regiments of ‘nutted and bolted’ M-777s under the watch of ‘Big Shots’, only 4 regiments of Pinaka MBRL which was initially envisioned to replace Soviet era BM-21s in service. Pinaka got no significant orders in the past 25 years, other than this endless search to increase the range i.e., Mark 2, Mark 3, Ramjet Propulsion etc.

Also, we would never have had an ATAGS without the Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan [FARP]. To meet it's requirements, the DRDO started a mission mode project to design and develop ATAGS. IIRC, over 650 crores were spent on the ATAGS project and the Artillery Directorate itself was involved during weapon design and development.

There are clear innuendos towards the "overweight" ATAGS while glorifying the M-777. Claims that a supply chain is present for M-777, when there is none - the local subordinate partner only screw driver assembled the M-777 in India. Also, in this video he outright dismisses the Bharat Forge gun as it is not “battle tested”. Are you kidding me ? What the heck are user trials for?

Also, the interview contains plenty of contradictory statements. The claim that only 150 ATAGS were to be ordered during the inception of the project is unverified and likely to be untrue. The first time we heard of a 150 gun order was in 2019 when the ATAGS was undergoing user trials. There seems complete dismissal of the need of indigenously designing, developing and manufacturing our own guns. Some useless RT chatter of Chinese made PA guns not working. It is better not to get into that trap. It would be foolish to think these guns will not work in the hands of the PLAGF.

My takeaway leaves me with more uncomfortable questions than answers. I cannot understand the logic why FARP was trash canned by the ‘Big Shots’. It only set back Indian Artillery modernization by another 2 decades. The results are there for anyone to see.

[Khalsa]

The good general has been oblique before many times and is beginning to garner a reputation for himself unfortunately.
If you ever want to re-affirm or confirm your stand on the matter, just look at the prevalence and absence of Military Industrial complex that is casting its own shadow of the Russo Ukraine war.

we gotta have our own built.

We cannot aim for the sexy stuff with no pilots shot down and all shells landing on point and all arty guns never failing once in their 40 year old lives.
We gotta get our own local build.

[Vayutuvan]

... as guns are always dug in. I didnt quite follow why though. In this age of WLRs and suicide drones fixed positions would be exposed? But I am sure there is a good reason…

There maybe some ORBAT considerations. I am no expert.

[Tanaji]

Also, we would never have had an ATAGS without the Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan [FARP]. To meet it's requirements, the DRDO started a mission mode project to design and develop ATAGS. IIRC, over 650 crores were spent on the ATAGS project and the Artillery Directorate itself was involved during weapon design and development.

There are clear innuendos towards the "overweight" ATAGS while glorifying the M-777. Claims that a supply chain is present for M-777, when there is none - the local subordinate partner only screw driver assembled the M-777 in India. Also, in this video he outright dismisses the Bharat Forge gun as it is not “battle tested”. Are you kidding me ? What the heck are user trials for?

The 650 crores spent is peanuts for the product that has been produced…

The good general has been vague on some points : one one hand he says M777 suffers from high barrel wear out - and he is right on that as this has been proven in Ukraine. But then he says there is a supply chain - but we don’t manufacture titanium barrels in India. Kalyani does but it’s for its own gun. Yet he wishes more were ordered by the government….

I believe the word he used for the Kalyani light gun is that it’s not “proven”: why not? When he was the DG , Parrikar had already did a policy change to allow pvt sector to use army testing ranges - why wasn’t the Kalyani light gun ever invited for “proving”.

The general doesn’t talk at all about why IA didn’t want the electric drive for Atags as it was too complicated? This is similar to rejecting an AC power pack for Arjun initially, and then asking for it on T90… No mention is made of ATAGS being able to fire zone 7 charges with increased range - the whole emphasis was on weight where the Athos has an advantage.

Back to the preference of towed guns in mountains and issues of using MGS in roads with switchbacks : doesn’t the artillery tractor that pulls the gun have the same issue? Plus as the general himself said - each gun is accompanied by 200 shells each of which weigh 100 kg including the base charge and packing - so there must be a truck that accompanies the guns to carry the 20T weight? The MGS is a truck as well? Furthermore, IA’s own trials proved its mobility in the high altitude trials. Quoting from Wikipedia:

The gun covered a distance of 341 km (212 mi) in around 10 days negotiating terrains with steep gradient and hairpin bends with ease without needing to unhook the gun from the tower. Mobility of the gun was tested for a distance of 526 km (327 mi).

What more proof is needed?

MGS has gun mated to truck and truck faults render the gun unusable until repair (cannot scoot)

That’s a reliability issue not a factor against the MGS concept itself. Moreover the general himself says there is no shot and scoot? Plus the artillery tractor can have faults as well with the same result?

The more you think about the interview, the stranger it becomes.

[sanjayc]

The general's arguments remain unconvincing, even in his previous videos. He doesn't give honest talk. He softly makes a case for foreign guns, and focuses only on shortcomings of Indians guns (weight, etc.) to degrade their perception as quality weapons. Looks like he is an import bahadur. He remains unconcerned about developing an MIC in India. The trick used is to compare India's still-in-development guns to the world's very best, and reject the Indian ones on some parameter or other.

[ramana]

DRDO has selected two suppliers to make four variants of their shell. Trials are in November.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/zeenews.in ... 4.html/amp