Author: Lan Shunzheng
First published from: The internal version of "Modern Weapons".
Earlier it was reported that the Indian Army, having learned the lessons of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, has begun to overhaul its artillery units, with a focus on mobility and enhanced long-range firepower. Sources said the Indian Army hopes to achieve its goal of converting all artillery to 155mm medium artillery systems by 2042.
The backbone of the artillery firepower of the Indian army in the future
According to the plan, the main force of the Indian Army's artillery in the future will consist of M777 ultralight howitzers (ULH), K9 "Vajra" self-propelled guns, "Danush" guns, "Sirloin" guns, etc.
M777 ultralight howitzer
The M777 ultralight howitzer is an ultra-light howitzer developed by the United Kingdom, which is currently mainly in service with the armed forces such as the Army and Marine Corps in Canada and the United States, and is also exported to many other countries. The M777 howitzer has a combat length of 10.7 meters, a towed length of 9.5 meters, and a total weight of 3.42 tons. The gun is a 39 times caliber 155 mm howitzer, which can be produced modularly, the quarter of the material of the gun body is titanium alloy, the optimized structure greatly reduces the weight, the compact structure reduces the parts, and the new XM907 type 52 times the caliber is used to increase the firing range. The artillery can use a variety of ammunition, the maximum range of the normal M107 grenade is 24 kilometers, the range of the M549A1RAP rocket extended range is 30 kilometers, the range of the M982 "Excalibur" guided projectile reaches 40 kilometers, the shell uses GPS and inertial guidance, the weight is 48 kilograms, the length is about 1 meter, the tail has 8 small wings, and the front part has four folding wings, which can be adjusted according to the positioning to increase the hit rate, and the shooting probability error is about 4 meters.
M777 uses a digital fire control system, an antenna is installed on the pedestal in front of the right for communication relay, which can quickly provide the necessary positioning and navigation for the artillery, the artillery squad is composed of 7 operators and 1 commander, the combat march conversion time of the gun is 1~2 minutes, the normal rate of fire is 2 rounds / min, and the burst rate of fire is 5 rounds / min. Thanks to its smaller size and lighter weight, the M777 howitzer can be transported by all large and medium-sized transport aircraft of NATO, and can also be quickly dispatched by helicopters such as Chinook, which is convenient to provide fire support for infantry fighting in urban areas, jungles and mountains at any time, and has all-weather combat capability.
The Indian Army commissioned the M777 ultralight howitzer in November 2018 and has so far entered service all 145 artillery pieces contracted for purchase.
The K9 self-propelled howitzer is a 52 times caliber 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by South Korea's Samsung Shipbuilding and Heavy Industries Company since 1989. The turret and hull are fully welded steel armor with a maximum armor thickness of 19 mm to protect against small arms fire and 155 mm grenade fragments, and the turret seat is equipped with four independently operated electric drives, which can be manually operated in case of emergency, and the crew is 5 people. The vehicle is also equipped with a three-proof system, heating equipment, an internal/external communication system, and an artificial fire extinguishing system.
The K9 combat weight is 47 tons, and it is equipped with an MT881Ka-500 8-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine on the right side of the front of the hull, with a speed of 2700 rpm and an output of 735 kilowatts, supporting X1100-5A3 automatic transmission, with 4 forward gears and 2 reverse gears, a maximum driving speed of 67 km/h, and a maximum road travel of 360 km.
In terms of firepower, the K9 uses a 52 times diameter 155 mm gun barrel imported from the German company Rheinmetall, with a chamber volume of 23 liters, a vertical wedge bolt, a double-chamber muzzle brake, and a suction device in the middle of the barrel. The tail of the gun is equipped with a Doppler muzzle velocity measurement system, with a measurement range of 20~2000 m/s, which is used to provide projectile muzzle velocity information for the on-board computer. The projectile of the K9 is loaded by an automatic loading system, the firing charge is manually loaded, the gun carries up to 48 shells and propellants in the turret, the maximum rate of fire is 6~8 rounds / minute (within 3 minutes), the burst rate of fire is 3 rounds / 15 seconds, and the continuous rate of fire is 2 ~ 3 rounds / minute (within 1 hour). The gun can fire all NATO standard 155mm ammunition, including anti-personnel explosive projectiles, anti-personnel explosive bottom-row projectiles, rocket extended-range projectiles, submunitions, smoke bombs, flare shells, chemical projectiles, and various types of full-bore range extender projectiles, with a maximum range of 30 km and 40 km for the bottom row of rocket-fired extended-range and bottom-row projectiles, respectively.
At the same time, the K9 is also equipped with a modular orientation system, an automatic fire control system, an artillery pitch drive and a turret rotation system from the American company Honeywell. When parked, the cannon can fire in 30 seconds, and on the march in 60 seconds. Using the on-board fire control system, the gun can achieve 3 rounds at the same time. The K9 can receive target aiming data from the company command station via a data digital radio or audio communication equipment, and the gun can also calculate aiming data using on-board fire control equipment.
The Indian Army tests the K-9 "Vajra" self-propelled howitzer
On March 31, 2017, the Indian government approved the purchase of 100 improved K9 self-propelled howitzers for the Indian Army, which will be assembled and produced in India, and named the K9 "Varjra" (some translate as "thunderbolt", some translate as "King Kong") howitzer. In April of the same year, the Indian engineering group and the K9 manufacturer Hanwha of South Korea signed a contract for the manufacture of the K9 self-propelled gun. It is planned that the K9 "Vajra" will be manufactured by Larsen and Tubro in cooperation with Hanwha, and more than 50% of the components of the self-propelled gun will be produced in India, which will manufacture the 13 main subsystems of the K9 howitzer (fire control, ammunition loading, muzzle velocimetry radar, nuclear, biological and chemical defense systems, etc.), and finally assemble it with semi-complete components provided by South Korea. At present, 100 K9 "Vajra" self-propelled guns have entered service, and India's Defense Acquisition Council has approved the purchase of 100 more such guns.
At the same time, the Indian Army also ordered 114 "Danush" guns and 300 "Sirloin" guns.
"Danush" artillery
Among them, the "Danush" artillery was independently upgraded by India on the basis of the Swedish FH77B155-mm howitzer. The FH77B howitzer uses a 39x caliber 155 mm rifled barrel, weighs 11.9 tons, has a maximum range of 30 km, and has a sustained rate of fire of 6 rounds per minute and a burst rate of fire of 3 rounds per 12 seconds. In addition to grenades, the FH77B can also fire flares, smoke grenades, extended-range rounds, etc. In the years from 1986 to 1991, India successively purchased more than 410 FH77Bs, and after finding that the performance was excellent and suitable for India's domestic needs, India began its localization plan in 2010, and completed the weapons development test in 2018, and then "Dhanush" was approved for mass production the following year. With a range of about 38 kilometers and a precision fire control system based on a navigation system, a ballistic calculation system and a direct day and night fire system, the Dannush's self-traction/propulsion unit allows for easier deployment in mountainous areas.
"Sirloin" artillery
The "Sirloin" artillery was jointly developed by the Indian National Ordnance Commission and the DRDO (Indian Defense Research and Development Organization), and was born as a 46 towed howitzer based on the M-130 mm towed cannon. M-46 is a long-barreled cannon developed and produced by the Soviet Union in the 50s, the Indian side replaced the original 130 mm 52 times the diameter of the gun barrel with a 155 mm 45 times the diameter of the barrel, retained the original gun carriage and other servo systems, and increased the maximum range from 27 kilometers to 39 kilometers, and the performance has been greatly improved. In addition, the "Sharon" is equipped with night vision sensors, which increases the night combat capability of the artillery.
Upcoming "new faces"
According to the report, the Army has also issued tenders for two other artillery systems - Advanced Towing Artillery System (ATAGS) and Mobile Artillery System (MGS).
Advanced Towed Artillery System (ATAGS)
The Advanced Towed Artillery System (ATAGS) is a 155 mm/52 x caliber howitzer developed by DRDO in collaboration with production partners Tata Advanced Systems and Bharat Forging. The project, launched by DRDO in 2013, aims to replace the old artillery currently in service with a modernized 155-mm gun in service with the Indian Army. The ATAGS system consists of a barrel, a breech loading mechanism, a muzzle brake and a recoil buffer mechanism, with a total combat weight of 18 tons and an effective firing range of 48 km. In order to reduce maintenance costs and improve the accuracy and stability of the gun, the gun is fully electrically driven, and the automatic loader is used for ammunition feeding, which can fire 6 shells in a row within 30 seconds. At the same time, the gun can be compatible with the command automation system C3I, such as the Indian army field artillery is currently equipped with the Shakti's artillery combat command and control system, which is composed of a network computer and an interactive terminal device, which can provide automatic command and control and data processing functions for Indian field artillery operations.
Initially, ATAGS was expected to complete R&D and start experimental work in March 2017 and start mass production in 2019, but this was not realized due to technical difficulties in the implementation of the recoil cushioning system and delays in the delivery time of the subsystem supplier. On July 14, 2016, the first successful verification firing of the gun was carried out, and on December 14, 2016, the gun was tested by live fire in Barasol, Odisha province. The cannon was first publicly demonstrated during a military parade in the Republic of India on January 26, 2017. In June 2021, the gun successfully completed firing tests at an altitude of 4,600 meters.
The mobile artillery system (MGS) is based on the Tatra 8x8 wheeled truck, developed and produced by the Indian company Ashok Leyland, with a "Danush" 155-mm howitzer mounted on the rear of the truck chassis, specially designed for use in deserts, mountains and high altitudes.
The MGS has a cruising speed of 80 km/h on the road and more than 30 km/h off-road, with a range of almost 1000 km. The front part is equipped with an armored cab with a crew of 7 inside, and all shooting operations can be carried out from the crew cab. The gun has an elevation angle of 0° to 72°, is equipped with a GPS-assisted INS inertial guidance system, a muzzle velocity data management system and an on-board computer fire control system, and is equipped with 18 high-explosive nuclear projectiles, which can hit targets at about 42 kilometers. The MGS can be combat-ready in less than 80 seconds and leave the launch position in less than 85 seconds after the end of the shot.