A Rs 7,000 crore aim: Army guns for new-age artillery

New Delhi: The army has issued a tender to acquire next-generation artillery guns that will be designed, developed and manufactured in India. It requires 400 of these gun systems in the first phase though the demand could rise manifold in the coming years as legacy equipment is replaced.

The estimated Rs 7,000 crore acquisition of new Towed Gun Systems is seeing keen interest from the private defence manufacturing sector that has invested heavily in the past few years to develop artillery systems.

Contenders for the contract will include Larsen & Toubro, which has already manufactured and supplied K9 Vajra Self Propelled artillery guns to the army. Bharat Forge and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd, which have developed the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) in partnership with Defence Research and Development Organisation and are currently competing for an army order, will also be top contenders.


The guns will be procured under a route that mandates that the system will have to be designed in India and will have more than 50% of indigenous content based on the contract value.

The advanced 155mm/52 caliber guns will be lighter and more versatile that current artillery guns, including the ATAGS.

Keeping the future in mind, the army is looking for higher automation and accuracy than current systems in service and the ability to fire a wider range of specialised ammunition.

The bulk of India's artillery currently consists of 130 mm field guns that are slowly being upgraded to 155mm under the Sharang project. While the tender issued by the army specifies a requirement of 400 guns, it has a total need of over 1,200 artillery guns of the same type. Sources said that the acquisition is being carried out in batches, given budgetary considerations.

The army has been on a drive to upgrade artillery firepower with several acquisitions in the pipeline. A contract for the 155mm/52 Caliber ATAGS is currently being processed.