Indian Army’s Field Artillery Rationalization Program (FARP) #indianarmy #artillery

Field Artillery Rationalization Program (FARP)

Riding on the success of 155mm Bofors gun during Kargil war, Indian army has proposed Field Artillery Rationalization Program (FARP). The programme is slated to replace the weapons of 169 artillery regiments with modern weapon systems with 155mm towed artillery to remain as the mainstay of the artillery force. As a part of FARP, Indian Army plans to procure 3000 to 3600 pieces of artillery in 5 different categories.

1580: 155mm towed artillery (ATAGS+Dhanush+Sharang)

This includes 1580 pieces towed gun systems under which army wants to procure ATAGS, Dhanush and Sharang.

ATAGS has cleared all its trial and is set for the acquisition which could commence by year end. The initial order will be for 150 artillery guns worth Rs 3,365 crore, which will be divided among the two developers – TASL & Bharat Forge. The deal will be split in 60:40 ratio between the lowest bidder (L1) and L2.

Interestingly, Indian Army released an RFI in December 2022 for procurement of 150 artillery guns of the 155 mm/52 calibre. Army prefers the weight of the gun to be 15T or less. The contenders for this requirement are ATAGS, Bharat-52 and Dhanush-52.

The Army is also looking to procure 300 upgraded 155mm Sharang guns. These guns have been upgraded from army’s vintage Soviet-origin 130mm M46 towed artillery to 155 mm/45-calibre standard with enhanced firing range of 37km & better terminal effectiveness. The army already has three Sharang regiments, it’s raising a fourth one, and eventually plans to have 15 such regiments.

814 Mounted Gun System

Army has plan to acquire 814 Mounted Gun system as part of its Field Artillery Rationalization Program (FARP). In April 2021, Indian Army has released an RFI for the procurement of 155MM/52 CALIBRE MOUNTED GUN SYSTEM. Based on this requirement of Army, DRDO along with Kalyani group has started the development of 155 mm/52 calibre mounted gun system (MGS). This gun system has a maximum range of 45 km is based on BEML Next Gen. 8×8 High Mobility Vehicle which gives it shoot and scoot capability.

The trials of the MGS have been going on for some time now. The mobility and performance trials of the MGS are completed. The standalone firing trials of the armoured cabin are also completed. As per latest reports, the MGS is ready to undergo the strength of design trials.

300 K9 Vajra

Indian Army has also planned induct 300 or more K9 Vajras. In 2017, L&T won Rs 4,500-crore contract to supply 100 units of K9 Vajra under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. On 18th February 2021, L&T had successfully completed the delivery of last and 100th K9 Vajra forming 5 regiments.

The next 200 guns which worth around worth ₹9,600 crore will be procured in two batches with each batch consisting of 100 guns. As per the report from The Hindu, MoD has issued an RFP to L&T in November 2022. Once its responded the price negotiations will begin followed by which order will be placed.

145 M777 howitzer

In November 2006, India has ordered 145 M777 howitzers from the US for $750 million. The M777s were the first artillery guns to be ordered after the Bofors scandal unfolded in the late 1980s. The M777 manufacturer BAE Systems delivered 25 ready-built howitzers and the remaining guns were to be built locally in collaboration with Mahindra Defence under ‘Make in India’ initiative. As per latest reports, 110 M777 howitzers have been delivered to Indian Army.

Garuda 105 V2

Indian Army has also shown interest in Garuda 105 V2 – an ultra-light weight, go anywhere gun. It fires a 105mm 37-calibre artillery shell with 360 degree firing capability. It has been indigenously designed and developed by Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited (KSSL). It can be mounted on any in-service 4X4 wheeled chassis like Tata 4X4 or even Humvee. Indian Army has already carried out trails of this gun at high altitudes and many foreign countries have also shown interest. The gun has also undergone trails in United states. In the year 2020, Kalyani group has sent this gun for trials to Saudi Arabia.

Join this channel to get access to perks:

**WHOMSOEVER IT MAY CONCERN
Most of the pictures clip or BGM included in the Video
Belongs to their Respected Owners and we do not claim rights.
We are using them under following act:
UNDER SECTION 107 OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT 1976, ALLOWANCE IS MADE FOR "FAIR USE" FOR PURPOSES SUCH AS CRITICISM,
COMMENT, NEWS REPORTING, TEACHING, SCHOLARSHIP, AND RESEARCH. FAIR USE IS A USE PERMITTED BY COPYRIGHT STATUTE THAT MIGHT
OTHERWISE BE INFRINGING. NON-PROFIT, EDUCATIONAL OR PERSONAL USE TIPS THE BALANCE IN FAVOR OF FAIR USE.
Follow us on social media:

==============THANKS FOR WATCHING!================
PLEASE LIKE SHARE & SUBSCRIBE: "INDIAN DEFENSE ANALYSIS"

Music: Eternal Garden - Dan Henig

[Red.bulldozer]

India should go for HIMARS like rocket launchers which can attack targets at long ranges and move away quickly.

The ukrainian war has shown, the artillaries can be detected quickly after firing and enemy can counter fire within a few minutes.

[eternal]

From your opinion which is better Bharat 52 vs kalyani atags howtizier and which is cheaper for indian army and what is indian army looking forward between these two..

[datoolz]

Too much towed artillery, better to put Dhanush/Sharang on the chopping block. Smartest to standardize on ATAGS, even including as main gun on Vajra, and work on building a Bheem 2.0 with Arjun chassis and ATAGS on top. MGS should be ordered in much larger numbers, and towed artillery numbers cut. Towed artillery is a sitting duck when weapon locating radars can find their location, drones discover where they are hiding and target them with counter battery fire. Mounted gun systems(ATAGS on a Tata/Leyland truck) should be the default artillery choice. Both PLA and PA have massive quantity of mounted gun systems. Towed artillery is obsolete in modern battlefield, and has limited use.

[bikassolanki]

Sir, please answer just 1 question.

Please educate me:

Russia is firing 50 to 60, 000 shells 🐚 of 155 mm artillery daily. The total strength of the Ukraine army is 4 to 5 lakhs.

This means they fire 100s of rounds and still no significant casualty. So, what is the use of expensive artillery?

Even if 10 shells are for 1 soldier, war should have ended in 100 days. But war continued...this means shells are not efficient at all, and these people are wasting their ammo.

Waiting for a reply.

[SQBghost]

How many field airtilers does india have 🤔is that more than 4000 or 3000?

[maheshdeore]

What will happen about stolen data of our missile program

[pkumar]

Truck mounted gun is the best option
Developing ROCKET Force is the best and better than army Force

[xpdeqyf]

First you purchase k9, m777, dhanush, some atags, show interest in elbit gun when kalyani has an indigenous gun and then they say rationalisation program. joke of Indian army.