The Indian Army has initiated a process to upgrade its mainstay 105mm Indian Field Gun of the Regiment of Artillery into a deadlier weapon as part of its modernisation efforts.
The Indian Army has already modified one of its 105mm IFGs to be able to aim at targets automatically through a computer, meaning the manual turning of dials or laying it would be done digitally now.
This would be similar to the modern artillery weapon systems such as the Bofors FH-77B, K-9 Vajra, and M-777 ultra-light howitzers that do the targeting automatically through a computer, according to Indian Army officers with knowledge of the developments.
“The laying of the gun via the automatic gun-laying technology will improve the effectiveness of the gun. This new addition will improve the response time of fire units and make the guns more accurate,” the officers said.
“Faster engagement time will also help with increasing the rate of fire. These developments will be greatly appreciated by troops seeking artillery fire,” they said. The new system would reduce target acquisition and information relay time by replacing manual cranks with motorised drives integrated into the digital fire-control systems.
It would enhance precision in high-angle mountain warfare and improve survivability through faster “shoot and scoot” manoeuvres, allowing the artillery crew time to relocate after firing the intended rounds.
The 506 Army Base Workshop carried out the modifications in the 105mm IFG, as part of the Artillery Regiment’s recalibration efforts under the Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan, the officers said.
The plan, formulated after the 1999 Kargil war, envisaged upgrading the existing artillery systems to the 155mm calibre guns, as most of the existing artillery units used the 105mm rounds, they said.
As part of the modernisation, the Artillery Regiment has inducted new guns, such as the indigenous Dhanush, BAE Systems’ M-777, and Hanwha’s K-9.
It has also ordered 307 of the indigenous Advanced Towed Artillery Guns (ATAGS). All of these artillery systems use the 155mm rounds.