DRDO Brainstorms With Private Industry On 155mm Towed Gun

 Indian Army Bofors Gun PHOTO via IBTimes
A month before the Tata Power Strategic Electronic Division unveiled what was heralded as India's first 'indigenous' artillery gun, the company was among 14 Indian firms that sat across the table with DRDO officials at a three-day brainstorming session in Pune between October 29-31 on the latter's proposed 155mm/52cal advanced towed artillery gun system (ATAGS, since they love their long acronyms).
The four Indian private sector companies that held 'system level interactions' were Tata Power SED, Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Forge Ltd and Mahindra Defence Systems, BHEL along with state-owned BHEL and BEL. Eight private firms that held 'sub-system level interactions' were Dantal Hydraulics, Starwine India Ltd, PSPL, Avasarala Technologies, Accurate Engineering, HBL Power Systems Ltd., Moog Inc and System Controls Ltd.

According to DRDO, the 155mm gun it plans to develop at the Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE) in Pune, "Improved firepower to achieve first salvo effectiveness at longer ranges, higher accuracy and enhanced survivability are the primary requirements for this gun system. Efforts are being made to develop new technologies for weapon platforms, automation and control systems, recoil management, materials, etc., to achieve improved weapon performance."

The DRDO labs that propose to be part of the gun development include the Instruments Research and Development Establishment (IRDE), Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (VRDE), Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) and DRDO HQ in Delhi.

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