India’s First Homegrown Long-Range Artillery Gun System Ready for Induction

The new 155-milimeter/45-caliber artillery gun is ready for induction, according to a senior Indian government official. India’s new indigenously designed and developed Dhanush 155-millimeter/45-caliber towed howitzer is ready for induction following the completion of final development trials at the Indian military’s test range at Pokhran in the Thar Desert region in northwestern India, according to a senior defense industry official. Six Dhanush guns were tested from June 2 to 6 firing fifty rounds each, Gun Carriage Factory (GCF) Senior General Manager SK Singh said on June 8. “Six guns in battery formation (at one go and at one target) successfully fired 101 rounds on June 7,” he was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India (PTI) . The artillery gun is now ready for induction, Singh claims. The Dhanush is an improved version of the FH-77B 155-millimeter/39 caliber towed howitzer manufactured by the Swedish defense contractor Bofors (now BAE Systems) of which India acquired 414 between 1987 and 1991. “[T]he major upgrade in comparison to the Bofors is the larger caliber,” I wrote elsewhere. “Furthermore, the Dhanush reportedly has a new maximum effective range of 38 kilometer in salvo mode compared to the 39-caliber, 27-km range of the original guns. The Dhanush howitzer is capable of firing eight rounds per minutes and needs a crew of six to eight artillerymen.” An upgraded variant of the Dhanush gun, designated Dhanush Version 2 (v2) with a larger caliber (from 45 to 52 millimeter) and a slightly increased range (from […]

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