India’s artillery modernisation finally progresses
The Indian Army’s long-delayed artillery modernisation programme finally got a boost with new defence minister Manohar Parrikar clearing a more than $2 billion procurement for 155mm/52-calibre mounted gun systems.
The decision to procure 814 artillery gun systems comes after three decades of procurement malpractices and as Pakistan and China both induct 155mm/52-calibre artillery guns.
The Indian Army’s last major acquisition was in 1987 for 410 39-calibre 155mm FH-77B howitzers from Sweden’s AB Bofors, in a scandal over illegal commissions that contributed to the defeat of the government the following election.
The army’s aging artillery presently consists of a mix of
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