By: Vivek Raghuvanshi
NEW DELHI — Reversing an earlier practice to give big-ticket orders only to state-owned companies, India's first homemade 155mm/52-caliber towed artillery gun, the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), will be built jointly by private sector companies.
"Initially an order of 114 guns worth $350 million will be given next year to the private companies," an Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) official said.
The Indian Army has a requirement of more than 1,500 towed guns, and the production order could be worth more than $4.5 billion, a potential boost for domestic private defense businesses.
The ATAGS is being developed by the state-owned Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) in partnership with two private sector firms — Kalyani Group and Tata Power SED.
"Two ATAGS prototypes have already been made and are under trials. MoD has already projected immediate requirement of 114 guns. The production can start within two years of order placement. With two partners having [their] own production line, [they] can meet the requirement faster," Bhupinder Yadav, a retired Indian Army major general and defense analyst, said.
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