News Report: India’s Home-Made Howitzer Creates World Record in User Trial

India's new ATAGS artillery gun during early test firing

Apart from its capability to fire ammunition at almost 48 kilometers, India’s locally developed ATAGS is the world’s only gun with a six-round “automated magazine” that fires a six-round burst in just 30 seconds.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India’s locally manufactured advanced towed artillery gun system (ATAGS) has created a record in ammunition firing during a user trial conducted at Pokhran in the western state of Rajasthan. The 155-millimeter 52-calibre howitzer fired three shells out to a record distance of approximately 47.2 kilometers in comparison to 40-45 kilometer by other such systems currently operational in the world.

Defense sources told Sputnik that this is, perhaps, the longest distance covered by an artillery gun system. “The system fired three shells at more than 47 kilometers using special, long-range ammunition called high explosive base bleed in Pokhran,” defense sources told to Sputnik.

News Story: Indian Navy seeks to replace Israeli Barak-1 air defense system

Barak-1 SAM (Image: Wiki Commons)

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — India's Navy has launched a new program to buy short-range surface-to-air missile systems from overseas to replace its aging Israeli Barak-1 air defense systems. 

India has made a global request for information to purchase 10 SRSAM systems and 600 missiles at a cost of about $1.5 billion.

Once responses are received in the next two months, the Navy will issue a tender under the Make in India policy's global purchasing category after six months to acquire the SRSAM systems. Under the program, overseas defense companies would need to forge partnerships with domestic companies to carry out 30 percent offsets obligations and include indigenous technology in the SRSAM systems.

An Indian Navy official said the proposed SRSAM system should be capable of vertically launching Mach 3-class active seeker missiles that can provide 360-degree defense coverage to meet all naval air defense applications including the need to carry out multiple simultaneous engagements.

Each SRSAM system will have a command and control system, a fire control system, a command link radar and one launcher to carry between eight and 16 missiles depending upon the size of the warship. The system's is expected to be inducted within the next five years.

According to an Indian Navy official, the foreign companies expected to make a bid are European-wide MBDA; Thales of France; Saab of Sweden; KBP Tula of Russia; Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems of Israel; Raytheon of the United States; and Doosan Group and Samsung of South Korea. 

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Domestic Firm Shares $1B Indian Gun Tender With Korean Partner

K-9 Thunder howitzer (Image: Wiki Commons)

By Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — In a major boost to India's private sector, Larsen & Toubro, jointly with South Korea's Samsung Techwin, beat Russia's Rosoboronexport in the Indian Army's $1 billion tender for a 155mm howitzer gun.

Larsen and Samsung fielded the K-9 Vajra tracked howitzer against the Russian 2S19 MSTA howitzer in 2013 and 2014 trials, and the K-9 beat the Russian gun on several technical features, a Ministry of Defence official said.

A Larsen executive confirmed that the MoD informed the company about being short-listed and that price negotiations will begin soon.

This would be the second time that a domestic company beat an overseas competitor in a big-ticket global tender. In 2010, domestic defense major Tata Power Strategic Electronics Division beat Selex Sistemi Integrati of Italy to win the $260 million modernization of airfield infrastructure project.

The tender for the tracked guns, issued in 2011, was a rebid of a 2007 tender, and was issued to India's Tata Power, Larsen Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. (BEML) and Rosoboronexport. Larsen teamed with Samsung while state-owned BEML united with Slovak company Konstrukha.

Read the full story at DefenseNews