TATA SED 155mm Howitzer
Even before the present and immensely proactive NDA - (National Democratic Alliance) government led by Shri. Narendra Modi opened up Foreign Direct Investment upto 49% in the Defence sector, major Indian industrial enterprises such as TATA Power SED, Punj Lloyd, L&T, Bharat Forge, Mahindra Defence Systems had forged joint venture agreements with renowned global defence equipment manufacturing companies especially those related to manufacture of 155mm/52 caliber artillery Howitzers. The new government has also reversed the retrograde blacklisting policy made by A K Anthony former defence minister in the UPA government to mitigate the conflict between probity and speed in defence acquisitions. These are good signs for the future of the Indian Defence industry, especially when seasoned players are brought into the fray to manufacture cutting edge equipment on a timely and cost effective basis.
Artillery guns are vital in any war not only in the vast plains but also in mountainous terrains, aptly proved during the Kargil war against Pakistan. But despite these lessons from history the Army has been dilly-dallying on its modernization plans. During the past two decades, India has not procured even a single artillery gun primarily because of embarrassingly tainted underhand and partisan deals by Congress led governments. The scandals have been plenty and the sleazy Bofors scandal was the biggest and most prominent of them all because it not only implicated defence officials and politicians but also the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi as a most contemptible beneficiary in the scam. The Swedish company which makes the gun paid 10 million USD (a huge amount in the 80's) in kickbacks to top Indian politicians and key defence officials. Apart from this major scandals several others have cropped up in the past two decades leading the Ministry of Defence (MOD) get cold-feet and scuttling or tempering the acquisition process.
BAE Global Combat Systems's M777 Light Towed Howitzer
One of the main casualties in this sordid saga is the acquisition of the famed BAE Global Combat System's M777 145mm Ultra Light Howitzers, unarguably one of the best field guns in the business today. Though maintainability evaluation trails (these trails constitutes the final round in the procurement process of any military equipment) have been completed, purchase plans were overtaken when the procurement process was restarted in July 2010. India's Ministry of Defence cleared the proposal for buying 145 guns for $660 million on 11 May 2012 through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route of the US government. On 2 August 2013, India requested the sale of 145 M777 howitzers for $885 million. On 24 February 2014 the purchase was again postponed. On 11 May 2014 the purchase was cleared by India's Defence ministry but on 11 July 2014, the Government of India announced that it would not order the guns because of cost had escaled to unprecedented levels. This is a major setback to the artillery modernization plans as this was the Army’s priority project.
Panzerhaubitze 2000 Rheinmetall Defence
The next artillery system evaluated was the 180x155mm/52 caliber wheeled Self Propelled guns, these guns are ideally suited for the plains and the semi-desert terrain. The Panzerhaubitze 2000 made by German company Rheinmetall Defence and the 155 mm ShKH M2000 Zuzana developed by Slovakian company Konštrukta Trenčín were in the fray. Even after completion of trails, Rheinmetal Defence was subsequently blacklisted for its dealings related to acquisition of some air defence equipment. As a result the army is still left with obsolete equipment which results in serious operational implications. The above analysis illustrates the current inadequacies of the artillery division and the disorder it has created in the overall modernization and acquisition process, and this is a serious national security concern.
Konštrukta Trenčín 155 mm ShKH M2000 Zuzana
Conclusion
The Indian Army’s decision to favour the 155mm gun was based on current threat perceptions, enhanced range, and terrain related adequacies. In the long run, the artillery’s modernisation program should include purchase and indigenous manufacture of towed, mounted and ultra-light Howitzers as well as Self-Propelled artillery units both tracked and wheeled, and the existent upgrade of MBRL (Multi-Barrel Rocket Launchers), missiles, communication, surveillance and counter bombardment munition.
