Tuting (Arunachal Pradesh): A light field gun of the Indian Army was successfully airlifted by under-slung operation by an IAF Mi-17 1V helicopter at Advanced Landing Ground (ALG), Tuting.
This is the first time a Mi-17 has carried out this operation in Tuting.
The Indian Army has been trying to upgrade its artillery with the recent induction of several state-of-the-art weapon systems while others are under various stages of trials.
The M777 ultra-light howitzers were inducted into the Indian Army along with the K-9 Vajra and Dhanush howitzers at Deolali near Nashik. The Indian Army will induct a total of 145 M777 howitzers in service.
The M777 Howitzers are planned to be used mainly for warfare in mountainous terrains only due to their lightweight and ability to be airdropped by the Chinook heavy-lift helicopters in the high altitude areas in the Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.
K-9 Vajra is a self-propelled tracked howitzer offering a rate of fire at long range. It works on the shoot and scoot policy.
Dhanush 155mm/45 calibre towed gun system can be deployed in all types of terrains. The Dhanush gun system is based on the designs of the Bofors howitzer which was inducted in the Army in the 1980s.
The Army had placed an order for more than 110 of these guns with the Ordnance Factory. The howitzer will help the force to modernise its artillery which had been awaiting induction for over three decades till some time ago.
In addition to that, the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), a 155-mm, 52-calibre towed artillery gun is also being built. ATAGS is said to be capable of firing to a very high range, better than most of the guns in its category.
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