New Delhi: With the ongoing standoff with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Indian Army has opened a new artillery firing range in Arunachal’s Tawang sector, making it the first in a high-altitude area.
Director General of Artillery, Lt Gen Adosh Kumar, at a media briefing in New Delhi, said that activating this range in the northern border would give the artillery “a sense of actual operational environment”.
Arunachal Pradesh falls under the Eastern Command of the Indian Army.
Lt Gen Kumar said that in the past two years, the Army has identified two firing ranges in Arunachal Pradesh. While the one in Tawang has been operationalised, the other is in the process of getting notified. Two more ranges have been identified in the north, he added, and the work was ongoing in consonance with respective state governments. Lt Gen Kumar said training had improved “considerably” with the opening of the high-altitude range.
Kumar further said the artillery regiment had incorporated simulators in a big way, especially for Agniveers to get realistic training. He said simulators have been inducted for various functions such as driving, weapons training, and for radio telephony. “We have recently even introduced a virtual reality observation post (VROP) simulator in the school of artillery,” he said.
Speaking on other projects, Lt Gen Kumar said work was ongoing to extend the range of Pinaka rockets, to almost four times of what it is capable of firing now. Pinaka can fire a variety of munitions and that is where its efficacy comes in on the battlefield, he said.
The trials are ongoing for guided extended range of the Pinakas. The Army has already conducted the high-altitude trials, which have been “promising”. Trials in the plains are happening next month and, if successful, the Army will conclude the contract with the vendor, he said.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is very active and confident they will be able to achieve it, the general added.
He also said the extended range Pinaka rockets would be comparable to the HIMARs—the light multiple-rocket launcher system used by the United States Army.
What else is the Army planning?
In addition, the Army is looking at increasing the range of high explosive pre-fragmented (HEPF) shells by a range of 15-20 percent. Lt Gen Kumar said while trials were over, the contract was in the final stages and would likely be signed in this financial year.
The Army is also engaged in procuring loiter munitions, swarm drones as well as runway independent remotely-piloted aircraft systems, or RPAS. Several 155 mm calibre guns or howitzers have been inducted in the Regiment of Artillery and these include ultra-light Howitzer (ULH), K-9 Vajra, Dhanush and Sharang.
ULH have been inducted along the northern borders, Lt Gen Kumar said. They are lighter in weight and can be carried underslung by helicopters. K-9 Vajra Gun System is ideal for mechanised operations. Dhanush Guns are an electronic upgrade of Bofors Guns, while the Sharang Gun Systems has been upgraded from 130 mm to 155 mm calibre, he added.
More numbers of K-9 Vajra, Dhanush & Sharang gun systems are being inducted in the near future. Acceptance of Necessity (AON) for repeat order of 100 K-9 Vajra guns was granted. Further process is on.
“We are also in the process of inducting other 155 mm gun systems to include Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), Mounted Gun System (MGS) and Towed Gun System (TGS).”
ATAGS is 100 percent designed and developed by DRDO along with two private development-cum-production partners. The contract is likely to be concluded soon. Trials for both MGS and TGS are likely to commence in 2025, the officer added. MGS has crew and ammunition on board the vehicle and has shoot-and-scoot capability, whereas TGS is a lighter and versatile gun system.
The Lt General said the Army was also looking at procuring futuristic ammunition. He said current ammunition had nubs—the small protrusions on bullet casings. “Worldover, major armies have got nubless ammunition. We are going to go nubless and have got the approval last year,” he added.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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