Army to order 300 indigenous Dhanush howitzers to boost combat readiness

NEW DELHI: The Army is set to order 300 Dhanush howitzer artillery guns to bolster its combat readiness, according to defence officials. "A high-level Defence Ministry meeting is likely to clear the order soon.

These guns would be used to raise 15 regiments of these indigenous artillery guns in the force," officials told news agency ANI. This will be the second major order for the Dhanush howitzers, which are manufactured by public sector companies. Their design is based on the Bofors howitzer, which was inducted into the Army in the 1980s. The 155 mm, 45-calibre Dhanush guns have already been inducted into the force, following an earlier order of 114 units a few years ago.

The guns fire 155 mm ammunition and can be fitted with a bi-modular charge system (BMCS), which increases their range. The artillery gun successfully completed its trials at Rajasthan's Pokhran in June 2018.Dhanush, with more than 80% indigenous components, has a maximum range that is 8–10 km greater than the Bofors howitzer. It can also fire all types of ammunition currently available with the Army.