Trials of indigenous 155 mm/52 Cal Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) were successfully conducted at Pokhran Field Firing Range (PFFR) between 26 April to 2 May 2022.
TASL ATAGS a 155/52mm Howitzer with a 25 lit chamber & All Electric Drives(first in the world) designed and developed by DRDO and TASL has flawlessly completed confirmatory trials. A big step towards “Atma nirbhar Bharat” in critical Weapons Systems.
The Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System is a modern artillery gun developed by DRDO. This cannon has been manufactured by Bharat Forge Limited and Tata Advanced Systems Limited. So far, six to seven tests have been done for it. It was first displayed to the public at the Republic Day parade on 26 January 2017. With this successful test, the future challenges of the army will be dealt with and the firepower of the army will be further strengthened.
According to certain sources, the Indian army is expected to place an order for 400 ATAGS units soon.
Trials of 155 mm/52 Cal Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) were successfully conducted at Pokhran Field Firing Range (PFFR) between 26 April to 2 May 2022: DRDO pic.twitter.com/4XADNqJzKX
— ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2022
The Army had, in 2018, placed an initial order for 114 of the 155mm x 45mm Dhanush, manufactured by the Ordnance Factory Board’s Gun Carriage Factory (GCF) in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur — now known as Advanced Weapons and Equipment India (AWE) Limited. However, the delivery was hit by production quality issues flagged by the force and hence needed fresh firing trials before being deployed fully.
About ATAGS
The gun consists of a barrel, breech mechanism, muzzle brake and recoil mechanism to fire 155 mm calibre ammunition with a firing range of 48 km. It has an all-electric drive to ensure reliability and minimum maintenance over a long period of time. It has advanced features like high mobility, quick deployability, auxiliary power mode, advanced communication system, automatic command and control system with night capability in direct-fire mode.
The gun is two tons lighter than guns in the same category and is designed to provide better accuracy and range and is capable of firing five successive rounds in short duration. It is compatible with C3I systems like Artillery Combat Command and Control System (ACCCS) called Shakti for technical fire control, fire planning, deployment management, operational logistics management of the Indian Army.
The ATAGS has unmatched range, with Extended Range Sub-Bore Boat Tail (ERFB BT) ammunition capable of hitting targets at 35 km and with ERFB BB (Base Bleed) ammunition with a 48 km range. The ATAGS actually fired at a range of 47 km in 2017.
The advanced gun system, which weighs around 18 tonne with an elevation up to 70 degrees, has undergone extensive trials at Balasore, Pokhran and Sikkim. Reports suggest the gun has so far fired almost 2000 rounds. The hydro lateral gun has a maximum firing range of 48 km and can be deployed in under three minutes.
The ATAGS gun system comprises 7,463 components of which 4977 are manufactured parts involving about 30,000 manufacturing processes and more than 2,00,000 inspection parameters.
It is said that when the ATAGS will finally be ordered, both the private firms, Bharat Forge and TATA Power SED, will get orders, but the lowest bidder would get the largest share — 60 per cent or more.
Both ATAGS guns developed by the respective firms have the same performance parameters and the final contract will be awarded based on the cost cited.