The deal of purchasing 145 guns has been accelerated by both India and U.S. The deal is seen as a bold step of India to enhance the defense forces of India as it is the first deal of purchasing guns after Bofors scandal in 1980s. Cabinet committee on security has approved the deal of Ultra-Light Howitzer guns that will cost about Rs 5,000 Crore to India. The delays in the deal have led to the rise in the cost of the deal by about $ 100 million. The sources also said that the two sides have discussed the views over predator drone along the sides of the M777 guns. The actual proposal of guns was about 10 years back. Now let’s have a brief account of the matter.
About M77 Guns
The gun is 155mm 39 Caliber gun. India has ordered 145 such guns. The deal was to acquire M-777A2, which is an updated version of M-777A1. As per the sources, the guns will replace the Bofors guns in future. The gun is efficient enough to fire 5 rounds per minute, which makes it a good choice. The digital fire control system of the gun helps it to fire at the accurate targets at long range. Other elite features of the gun are Laser Inertial Artillery Pointing Systems (LINAPS), Low-Rate Initial Production LIRP and Towed Artillery Digitization (TAD), which gives it more power to strike.
Why India chose them?
The guns are best suited for Indian terrains. The guns can give their best in the high mountainous terrains, which is the crucial part of the Indian border. The guns are also reported to be easily transported by the helicopters and can be towed on the roads too. The gun is known for its capability and mobility and also it’s proved performance in various ranges of temperatures. The main aim of purchasing the guns was to arm the mountain crops of India that was raised in 2013.
What Ahead?
The producer of the guns, BAE, is expected to be planning to get into a deal with Mahindra Defence for manufacturing the same guns. But the joint production of the guns is not so easy due to some technical issues like titanium technology and barrel manufacturing, which are chief concerns for the production of the guns.
Other deals with U.S.
U.S. has been a crucial defense exporter for India in the past. India has a deal for purchasing Chinook and Apache helicopters from U.S. Apart from this, purchasing U.S. Drone Predator is also a fresh issue. Earlier, India has signed a deal with U.S. for P-8 Poseidon. LEOMA is also a great achievement for India to bolster the U.S. India defense ties. C-17 Globemaster and C-130J Hercules planes were also bought by India from U.S. that increased the transport capabilities of Indian air force.
Conclusion – The Indian Armed Forces have brought the defense mechanics to a new era, where S-400, Brahmos, Barak-8 and other new generation weapons. The induction of M777 guns will improve the security of India and will be a bead in the India U.S. relations. India is currently engaged in finalizing Rafale deal with France to recover the lacking squadron in India Air Force and the government has taken a good step by point toward M777 to raise the defense capabilities of India. As per the scenario, Indian government seems to be parallel toward emphasizing on indigenous manufacturing as well as foreign procurement which is the need of the hour.
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