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.
A close reading of the official statements made by India’s MEA, ASEAN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and Turkiye suggests that our reticence is not exactly an outlier.
India has already purchased nearly 16 million barrels of Russian crude so far in March 2026, translating to roughly 1.6 million barrels per day, indicating a sharp uptick.
In a first during his tenure as High Commissioner to India, Riaz Hamidullah addressed JOCAP consisting of tri-forces officers, as New Delhi & Dhaka step up normalisation efforts.
Trump has ushered in the age of humiliation. His method is to push around America’s friends rudely and publicly. He knows none of them can afford to fight back.
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