Make in India: Baba Kalyani-led Bharat Forge guns for top spot in artillery

MUMBAI: Bharat Forge aims to become among the top-three artillery gun manufacturers in the world, chairman Baba Kalyani said on Monday. "Bharat Forge is currently working on five artillery gun platforms," he said.

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Showcasing a 155 mm/52 cal artillery gun during the Make in India week in Mumbai, Kalyani said, "I don’t want to put a number or target to our artillery system. At the defence expo, we will unveil five platforms that we have designed, including the ultra light artillery gun made of titanium. By 2025, we want to be among the top three in artillery systems and export artillery equipment out of India."

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Kalyani said the opportunity in the domestic market is huge as new orders for 4,000 guns are up for grabs in 10-15 years with each order costing Rs 12-14 crore. Bharat Forge is adopting a three-pronged approach to participate in the aritellery business — first, capture new gun requirement for future needs; second, substitute 75-90 per cent of imports on the current platforms — which Kalyani says is a low-hanging fruit; and, third, offer consumable parts for the artillery business.

Kalyani said the company has defence joint ventures with three companies — two from Israel and one with Swedish defence major SAAB. Bharat Forge will look at more companies to partner to expand its footprint, he said. On the opportunities in aerospace, Kalyani said, "We now need to get into the supply chain of HAL and domestic companies, and start looking at building systems and sub-systems. We might make some JVs to make that happen."