In episode 1626 of Cut The Clutter, Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta and Deputy Editor Snehesh Alex Philip break down the challenges with this deal, and the future of Indian artillery.
60% of the contract, which involves 307 howitzers and 327 towing vehicles, will go to Bharat Forge, which emerged as lowest bidder, and 40% to Tata Advanced Systems.
Bharat Forge already has a contract with Armenia for ATAGS. The west Asian country is angling for a larger order after the successful induction and performance of the gun system.
The sale of indigenous Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System, which is yet to be inducted into the Indian Army, is a revelation. Defence ministry mum on which country made the purchase.
Defence ministry gives nod for capital acquisition under new category of Buy Indian-IDDM. HAL emerges big winner as Navy proposals constitute more than Rs 56,000 cr.
Amit Kalyani, Deputy MD at Bharat Forge, part of Kalyani Group, said in certain product categories, like artillery guns, and ammunition, India can become a big exporter.
In its request, Army specifies weight of gun system should preferably be less than 15 tons. This brings Israeli firm Elbit in reckoning as indigenous ATAGs are well over 18 tons.
Dhanush needed fresh trials after Army flagged production quality issues. Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System was found to have 'inconsistency' in overall performance in trials last June.
While the DRDO insists ATAGS are better than the Israeli ATHOS, the army has voiced concern over its weight and inability to meet critical performance parameters.
According to government reply in Lok Sabha, the pilot phase of PMIS is being used to test concepts, strategies and systems before a full-scale implementation of the scheme.
Order for 87 MALE drones will be split between 2 Indian firms in 64:36 ratio to ensure there are 2 independent manufacturing lines with at least 60% indigenous components.
The India-South Africa series-defining fact is the catastrophic decline of Indian red ball cricket where a visiting team can mock us with the 'grovel' word.
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