Defense Ministry to buy howitzers from US - Fusion - WeRIndia

The Defense Ministry has given green signal to buy 145 Ultra-Light Howitzers. The cost of this purchase is around USD 750 million. They also approved bulk production of 18 Dhanush artillery guns.

18 new schemes worth Rs 28,000 crore are being discussed with the approval of Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. Another important project was the proposal to build six next generation missile vessels under ‘Buy Indian’ category. This project is worth Rs 13,600 crore.

According to senior defense ministry official, the DAC approved the procurement of 145 Ultra Light Howitzers through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route from US. These guns will be delivered in India which helps in substantial saving of transportation cost said the official.

The DAC also reduced the supply period of the guns even though the exact period could not be known. India sent a letter to the US government talking about India’s interest in buying the guns. India is planning to deploy these guns in high altitude areas like Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh, bordering China.

The US returned a Letter of Acceptance. After the terms and conditions were set, DAC approved it. The approval from DAC will be sent back to US and then the payment of first installment will begin.

25 of these guns will come to India in a fly away condition. The remaining ones will be assembled at the proposed Assembly Integration and Test facility.

According to the DAC, the progress regarding manufacture of indigenous Dhanush guns, also known as Desi Bofors is quite satisfactory.

The official said that three guns would be delivered for user exploitation by June 30 and three more will be given over by September end. DAC also green lit the bulk production of 18 guns. These guns are made to give better exploitation and setting up of indigenous production.

Image credit: 160829-D-SK590-365.JPG image by U.S. Secretary of Defense is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Image Reference: https://www.flickr.com/photos/secdef/29323212375/