Indian Army to Resume Trials of M777 Howitzer Artillery Gun

Testing of the artillery gun back on track!
Indian Army is going to resume trials of US-made M777 ultralight howitzer in the Pokhran firing range, Rajasthan.

• During the trails local ammunition will be used and tentatively 100 to 150 rounds will be fired.
• The trials will begin after they were suspended in September 2017 following a barrel burst caused by faulty ammunition during firing.

Facts about the M777 Howitzer artillery gun

• M777 is a 155-mm, 39-calibre towed artillery gun.
• It is manufactured by US based BAE Systems’ Global Combat Systems division.
• It is smaller and lighter, as it is made of titanium and aluminium alloys and weighs just 4 tonnes.
• It has an effective firing range of 24 km.
• It can use all types of 155 mm ammunition.
• It can be easily transported by heavy lift helicopters, which will give Indian Army tremendous flexibility in its operations, especially in high altitude mountainous terrain.
• It takes only three minutes to come into action and has a pack-up time of just two minutes.
• It can sit down like scorpene, which makes it difficult to be spotted by the enemy tanks.

Significance of inducting M777s:

• Induction of M777 Howitzer artillery guns is expected to add tremendous firepower and much needed operational advantage to the Indian Army as they will be deployed in high-altitude areas in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh, bordering China.
• It will also give access to state of the art technology.
• These artillery guns are already being used by US, Canadian and Australian armies.

Interesting details about the background of M777 agreement:

• India signed a Letter of Agreement and Acceptance (LoA) with US Government in November 2016 to buy 145 M777s through the foreign military sale (FMS) route at cost of $737 million.
• Of the 145 guns, 25 will be imported while the remaining 120 will be assembled in India in partnership with the Mahindra group.
• Deliveries are slated to commence in March 2019 and will be completed by 2021.
• M777s deal is the first contract for artillery guns in almost 30 years after Bofors artillery guns induction in late-1980s, which had got embroiled in political controversy due to illegal kickbacks.
• Bofors guns however had been mainstay for Indian Army for decades and had played important role in Kargil conflict.