The Bofors guns had proved to be instrumental in the 1999 Kargil war against Pakistan

India-China border tensions: As the Indian and the Chinese troops are locked in face-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, the Indian Army is not sparing any preparations. The mighty Bofors howitzers of the Indian Army are being kept ready for operations, according to a report by ANI. The news agency said that at the Bofors gun maintenance facilities in Ladakh, the defence force’s engineers are putting in hard work to ensure that the 155 mm gun is serviced and upkept. The gun had been inducted into the Regiment of Artillery back in the 1980s.

The gun can fire in high as well as low angles and the force is planning to deploy it in Ladakh once it has been serviced. The report quoted Army Engineers as saying that the gun would be serviced and ready to operate within a few days. The gun needs to undergo periodical servicing as well as maintenance to remain an asset to the force, and to ensure that the gun can be used to its full potential, technicians have been deployed to keep the gun working, the report added.

In the workshop, it is the responsibility of the Army Engineers to ensure that all the weaponry needs in odd situations are kept up to their standards. The report quoted Lt Colonel Preeti Kanwar as saying that the technical store group was tasked with providing everything from a firing pin to the engine assembly of a tank. While giving details about how the Indian Army prepared and serviced the weapons at the front areas, the Lt Colonel said that they had a mobile spares van that provided technicians in the forward areas with the components they needed for any repair works.

The Bofors guns had proved to be instrumental in the 1999 Kargil war against Pakistan, and had easily destroyed invading militia’s bunkers and bases situated at high altitude mountains.

India and China have been locked in a standoff at the LAC for the past few months, and the tensions escalated after an aggression from the Chinese side on June 15. 20 soldiers of the Indian Army were martyred and China suffered an undisclosed number of casualties.