Artillery Gun Dhanush To Be Made In Telangana’s Medak

HYDERABAD: It’s going to be a boom time for the Ordnance Factory in Telangana’s Yeddumailaram in Medak district. In what could be giving thrust to the Make in India initiative, the factory will manufacture 114 ‘Dhanush’ artillery guns for the Army.

The factory, located 50 km from here, recently received a bulk order from the Indian Army and the ministry of defence (MoD) for producing the first-ever indigenous artillery gun, Dhanush, at its unit.

The long range artillery gun, which is equipped with navigation-based sighting system and onboard ballistic computation, has the added advantage of day and night direct firing system. “The artillery gun has been mechanically upgraded to fire the NATO-standard 155 mm ammunition. The guns are all-terrain worthy, including deserts and high altitudes, and can clock a speed of 1,600 km,” a senior defence official told TOI.

An extensive experiment was carried out by the Ordinance Factory Board (OFB) in association with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) before they were inducted, he said. “The weapon has also been electronically upgraded to enhance its firing accuracy. It has compatibility with various types of ammo and the performance of the gun has been evaluated under arduous conditions in several phases,” he explained.

Another advantage is that self-propulsion allows the gun to negotiate and deploy itself in mountainous terrains with ease. “The gun can also accommodate bi-modular charge system (BMCS), which has resulted in increasing the gun’s range,” a senior official said. BMCS is advantageous over conventional cloth bag charges because of its simpler operation and reduced logistics during storage and transportation in a war scenario.

Sources said OFB had already received key documents regarding transfer of technology for manufacturing the 155 mm modern artillery gun. In fact, the Army had changed its vision parameters from 155×39 calibre to 155×45 calibre. Dhanush is a product of OFB, Army with contributions from DRDO, Directorate General Quality Assurance, Bharat Electronics Limited, Steel Authority of India Ltd and several private enterprises.

Source:ToI

Image Courtesy:IBTimes