India’s first long-range artillery gun Dhanush will now be included in the Indian Army

JAISALMER: Trial of India’s first long-range artillery gun, indigenous Dhanush was completed on Sunday at Pokhran Field Firing Range of Jaisalmer district. Now, it is ready to be included in the Indian Army as experts present during the trial have given their nod. It proved successful in all the tests and the Army has given order for 12 Dhanush to Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), Jabalpur which will be supplied to the Army in this financial year.

According to Army official sources, the final trial of indigenous Dhanush 155 mm and 45 calibre artillery gun was started on June 2 which completed on Sunday. Team of Ordnance Factory Board, Jabalpur and senior officers of Indian Army were present on the occasion. Six Dhanush guns that the Army had were brought to Pokhran. These are improved indigenous editions of Sweden Bofors gun that can hit a target at 40 km. The Sweden gun could hit up to 27 km. Around 80% of the parts of Dhanush are indigenous and it works on the electronic system instead of hydraulic system. It can hit the target at night also and six fires can be done in a minute.

Sources said during the trial period six guns fired over 50 rounds per day per gun. On June 7 these guns fired over 100 rounds and hit the target at 39 km distance. Although this gun was to be manufactured in 2016 and was to be included in the Army in 2017 but in two years its muzzle was broken and barrel exploded due to which there were obstacles. In March 2018, after improvements and upgrading, it was tried at cold places of Sikkim, Balasore and Babina and finally, in Pokhran Field Firing Range which was successful.

Sources said the Army has to be supplied 114 guns and 12 will be supplied this financial year. This is cheap compared to other guns and it costs Rs 14.50 crore. The American ultra-light Howitzer gun whose trials are also on is priced at about Rs 33 crore and the same category gun, K-9 Thunder from South Korea is of Rs 42 crore.

Sources said that Gun Carriage Factory (GCF) got the Dhanush project and its first prototype was made in 2014 and thereafter several more prototypes were made.

Sources also added that in the Dhanush advanced version apart from firing range of 40 kilometres, the gun also boasts of advanced features such as quick deployment ability, high mobility and advanced communication system with night firing capability. It weighs around 12 tonnes and is capable of firing five successive rounds in short duration. The 1999 Kargil War illustrated the utility of light-weight artillery that can be quickly deployed in mountainous regions.

This Indian-manufactured Bofors cannon has been named P-(155). It is to be mentioned that between 1984 and 1990 around 400 Bofors cannons had been imported from Sweden, but later due to disputes more were not imported. This cannon had played important role in Kargil War. The defence ministry and OFB, after a lot of research and experiments, agreed to manufacture such cannons.