Caesar front running for Army's Truck mounted Artillery

Caesar front running for Army's Truck mounted Artillery

Indian army had a requirement of more than hundred's of truck mounted 155mm 52 cal artillery's for it's strike corps and new mountain strike corps. Under the artillery project, Army looks to induct range of artillery systems, like towed, self propelled and now this truck mounted. Like other procurement's, this truck mounted artillery too comes under make in India program.

For this project vendors from all over the world requested to provide information about the respected system to Indian army evaluation team. The French teamed with Ashok Leyland and L&T offered the Caesar System, South Africa teamed with TATA offered Denel, Serbia teamed with OFB and BMEL offered the Nora system. While BAE Archer never made any attempts. which is the known better system in truck mounted artillery.

As the performance wise Ashok Leyland and Nexter made Caesar is front running to seal the deal. Caesar is the known battle proven artillery system operated by French, Saudi and some other nations. It's a 155mm 52 Cal heavy artillery system, used to suppress the enemy firing ranges. Caesar had an automatic reloading system can holds 18 ready to fire rounds. with the firing range of upto 50km using rocket assisted projectiles or some 40 kilometers with normal shells.

The Caesar is light weight, can comes with the either 8x8 or 6x6 wheels, can also easily air lifted by the existing IAF's C 130 air lifters. The entire system, that is Truck and gun weights around some 18 tons only for 6x6 and weights around 30 tons for 8x8. The Caesar is already operationally deployed by many nations include Thailand who claimed two Cambodian BM 21's.

Caesar is one of the finest option for the Army, can be used with existing Ashok Leyland trucks. and in performance wise it's better who operationally deployed hot and cold weather conditions around the world. Can also launch guided projectiles for effective fire power. although all artillery's can fire guided rounds.

The other one who competing the deal is the South African Denel teaming with the TATA. who offering the Denel G6 for the Army's truck mounted artillery program.G 6 also a good competitor in terms of fire power and range. The G 6 is weights around 46 tons, due to it's large size and 6x6 wheel platform. Making hard stance for air transport.

G 6 can capable to strike targets upto 67 kilometers thanks to it's V LAP round. Normally it's effective firing range is upto 40 kilometers same like other system, along with auto re loader and other known modern systems like fire control and target acquisition.

G 6 can fire only 4 rounds per minute, which is low compared to it's competitors. 6-8 rounds is the known good figure for such systems. Since truck mounted artillery can perform shoot and scoot with the delay of 30 to 60 seconds. making hard to find the potion of the artillery using weapon locating radars.

G 6 already deployed by several Arab army's and the South African army. In India that gun placed in the TATA truck who unveiled the model in defense exhibition in last year.

The DPSU also teamed with the Serbians for the Truck mounted artillery project. State firms like OFB and BEML joins with Serbian state firm to produce the Nora B 52 in India. The artillery is already operational under the Bangladeshi ground forces.

Nora is also a comparable systems to other competitors, with better range fire power and integrated network systems. With better firing capability Nora can fire 6-10 rounds per minute. using normal and guided shells for effective fire power. The Nora also works with the Russian standard artillery ammunition's like Krasnopol guided shells.

The entire system weights around some 30 tons, fitted in a 8x8 platform. Nora already operational in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Kenya, Nora is a better system comes in handy price compared to others. In India Nora can be made by OFB and carried by BEML trucks.

BAE Archer is the one who is a better system compared to all the above, developed by the Swedish firm, Archer shares similar characteristic with existing Bofors and Dhanush artillery system. Archer is comes with Volvo truck. In case of Indian orders Volvo India can deliver those trucks. Despite heavy looking the Archer weights below 30 tons. with this weight Archer can be air lifted using A 400 and C 130 J.

Archer can carry 21 ready to fire shells, can be refilled with an minutes. Archer can fire and scoot within 30 seconds. Archer can fire more than 8 rounds per minute, can achieve the fire rate by using  both guided and normal shells. Archer is an best performing Truck mounted artillery. compared to others Archer costs more. Archer is already operational under Swedish, Norwegian and Croatian army's.

IA yet to conduct the field trials, however by looking the performance, as already said Ashok Leyland Caesar is the best one for Indian Army.

Army SPH Racing; MSTA and K9 on final Run

Army SPH Racing ; MSTA and K9 on final Run

      Artillery is one of the backbone of the Amry to to hold and perform offensive mission over enemy position. The Artillery comes several types, mostly easily classified as Towed and Self propelled, Towed means the Artillery need a wagon which can tow the heavy Artillery, although the Fire power is much huge and Long Range, another is Self propelled here Artillery fixed in a Tracked or wheel platform, mostly look like a Heavy tank.

           Indian Army has a Requirement of all kind of Artillery's, Here Army nearly closer to select the winner of Self propelled Howitzer. after heavy competition Russian 155mm MSTA and the South Korean K9 thunder which also a 155mm/52 cal Howitzer. Both in the final run to supply five hundreds of Howitzers to Indian Army

        Under the deal the Foreign company can supply first Hundred Howitzer directly from their production line, another four hundred will be built in India under any Private Companies, here the Current Racers Joined with Larsen and Tubro for Samsung K9 Thunder, and it's believed that OFB hands with the Uraltransmash MSTA. Both are the superior Platforms,

Samsung K9 Thunder

      Thunder is developed by the Korean Company Samsung a leading South Korean PSU, the Thunder also having a automatic reloader vehicle to arm the Howitzer to fire the Rounds continuously. the reloader vehicle called as K 10 Automatic reloader, the reloader can work with several systems, like It can reload a group of K 9 Thunder Howitzers.

       The main advantage of the of the Self propelled Howitzers is the all welded steel armour construction which can save the crew and the Howitzer from small 12.7 mm heavy machine Gun fire from Heavy rounds, Mortars and other Howitzers, even those heavy Howitzers can with stand of Anti Tank Mines. the Tanks has five members, the Tank commander, Driver, Gunner and Two loaders,

      The Howitzer can fire 155 mm shells from it's 52 caliber Mani gun, which can fire most kind of HE ( High Explosive ) and Rocket assisted Projectiles for extended Range of Targets, the effective firing range is nearly some 30 kilometers, to highest of 56 kilometers with RAP shells. the Howitzer also has a Heavy machine gun to fight against infantry and personal uses, the Howitzer have one 12.7 mm 50 Cal rifle for both anti personnel and anti air uses.

       The K9 has the unique capability of firing multiple rounds in same targets making completely damaging the target, it can fire shells with the interval of five seconds, makes it affordable fire power.

with the MRSI mode- Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact, the Howitzer can fire three rounds into the Target within fifteen seconds, but all of them can hit the Target in same time, with the help of Modifying the Shells trajectory.  

         The K9 weights some 47 Tons sounds the same tonnage of Main battle Tanks. with the help of 1000 HP engine it can attain the speed of 67 kilometers per hour.

           The Automatic reloader also share same Transport and body, to achieve the range and speed of the Howitzer. it can able to feed 12 shells into the Howitzer within a minute, each reloader has 104 ready to feed shells. the K 10 has automatic reloading technique, which requires low man power. the reloader also have the 12.7mm Heavy machine gun from protect the tank from outside threats.

      The entire Howitzer units are Protected from CBRN ( Chemical Biological Radiation and Nuclear) also withstand from and any kind of heavy EMP attacks. 

         The Samsung and L&T Signed a contract early 2012. to participate in the Indian Army Howitzer contract.

Uraltransmash MSTA-S

       The MSTA -S also shares same characteristics with the K9 thunder, unlike the Howitzer fitted in the T 80 Main Battle Tank Chassis and Runs with the T 72 Tanks engines, makes the Indian army can easily maintain and service the Howitzer system if any Problems persisted.

          The MSTA-S looks huge is size but weights only 42 Tons, makes 5 Tons lesser than the K9 Thunder. the MSTA-S fire power is bit low compared to the 15 rounders per minute, but MSTA fires only six to eight rounds per minute.

        But the Range is almost equal to the K9 thunder,  shares the same 12.7mm Heavy machine gun, also it's come with smoke launchers, to escape from threats and laser guided Anti tank missiles.

       The MSTA runs with 840 HP engines which gives the Howitzer to attain speed upto some 60 kilometers per hour, slightly less speed and power than the K9.  

      It's believed that Indian PSU OFB or BEL in hands with the Russian MSTA to produce the Howitzers in India. 

Dhanush The Indian 155mm 45 cal Artillery

Dhanush The Indian 155mm 45 cal Artillery

        

Dhanush Gun in Winter Trails

      Haunted by the purchase of Bofors India has always been on a lookout for a more reliable artillery fun.  India signed a deal with the Swedish company back in 1986 for the Bofors under which, India was to procure 410 pieces of 155mm Howitzer field guns at an estimated cost of $285 million.  But the deal was troubled from its inking, the scandal brought to light by the Sweden radio served as a major setback to the deal. The Bofors did prove their battle worthiness in the Kargil operation but since then never went any up gradation and the numbers of the crucial artillery guns have dwindled down to as low as 200. The need for these weapons is one of the most urgent needs of the army.

       The UPA government weighted plans to procure a latest Artillery gun from a foreign vendor and under ToT to continue productions and development in India. The Congress led government which had signed the deal in 1986 had suffered dearly losing the power owing to the Bofors deal and the UPA government was always reluctant to ink a deal. 

   At the same time the OFB was asked to come up with a design which would empower Indian Army with a reliable and powerful Artillery gun. The OFB choose the Bofors design for the base layout and decided to develop upon the design which would result in a very composite piece of machinery. 

 

          The program was code named Dhanush, OFB joined hands with L&T and Bharat forge for developing an indigenously developed howitzer which was to be handed over to the army for tests by 2013. The Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) was selected as the lead developer for the program under which the gun was to feature a 155mm 52 calibre and the gun would offer a operating range of 38 kilometre.   

     The gun is claimed to be around 80 per cent indigenously developed the  APU, electronic dial sights and the thermal gunner sights are at the moment the components being imported but DRDO promises to indigenously develop these units in the coming years.

      By 2014 OFB handed over a highly advanced and robust Artillery gun named the Dhanush to the army, the army then went on to claim the product as one of the most reliable products to be ever placed on the battle field. 

   The Defence ministry then placed order for 114 Dhanush guns from OFB, each of these guns costs nearly 11 crore. The guns went under serial production last year and OFB handed over 18 Dhanush to the Army last year, and has plans to produce nearly 50 units this year and has plans to ramp up productions with newer facilities and will be supplying the army with 100 more guns in 2016, which would effectively complete the Initial orders.

    The Army has a requirement of about 400 long range howitzers, the tests of the Dhanush had hit dead ends owing to the barrel burst when the Dhanush was undergoing live round fire trials in Pokran range. But OFB did prove it was a failed ammunition round and not the barrel itself and OFB agreed to redesign the barrel. 

      Dhanush was recently test fired from the Pokran range yet again and was monitored for its performance under high temperature. Dhanush performed exceptionally well and performed missions well within the nominated parameters. Dhanush also was tested for low temperature operations in Kashmir valley where the gun performed under the set parameters and was successful in eliminating preset targets. 

     Briefing the media about Dhanush performance the Defence Minister on 27th April made public the test statics, and quoted all tests was successful and the Army was a satisfied lot with the gun's performance.

       Experts believe the 45 Cal Gun id effective for stop gap measure, but the real force multiplier would be the 52 cal Artillery with 155mm barrel which is still under development. India currently operates the M 46, an Soviet era field guns which enjoys a range of 39 kilometer thanks to its 155mm barrel and this could be used as an basic outline for the underdevelopment 155mm barrelled gun. 

Editor Karthik Kakoor

The Bofers Gun

Dhanush in Hot weather Trials

 

OFB Dhanush in Def Expo

Pinaka MBRL

Pinaka MBRL 

Pinaka Mark II Version Test Firing a rocket

         The Artillery Guns are made for the Soldiers to Bombardment the enemy Positions and Bunkers. those starts from Howitzers to Field Artilleries but they lacks the Accuracy. they can't hit the Target in single shot you need to Bombardment the Threat area to neutralize that threat. So the Russians first bring the Rocket Propelled Artillery Rounds that's fitted in a Mobile vehicle. gives superior effort to the Russians to bring Victory in the war. Other nations too see the Performance of the MBRL and  researched about the MBRL. For India we first Produced and Tested our own version of MBRL named Pinaka. when Pinaka entered the service It suddenly get the chance to kck some Baksitani's a$$. due to the birth it can't be deployed all over the frontiers but It shows the muscle where they deployed.

           Typically a Pinaka Battery holds a Six Launcher units that can hold some 72 ( 12x6)  missiles ready to Launch the designated Area. while each Pinka holds 12 ready to fire Rockets.  and one more those 72 Rockets can be fired in a Ripple mode that means it can fire it's 72 missiles within 45 seconds ie less than a Minute. if those 72 Missiles can target a wide area of 1 square Kilometer entire structure  can be demolished  within the radius. The Battery also consists six Loader  Replenishment  Vehicles. each Loader Replenishment vehicle Holds 24 Missiles. that can be Reloaded within four Minutes. and another three Replenishment Vehicles holds the Rocket spares, Power supply, Support systems and More. two more Command Post vehicles also within the battery while one works another in Standby mode to replace the Command Post in case of any technical issues. and a DIGICORA MET radar which is a Meteorological Radar which analyzes wind speed and Weather information for Launching the Rockets in best weather and Direction. 

A loader Replenishment Vehicle of Pinaka MBRL 

Modes of Operation 

Autonomous Mode 

        Which means the system can be deployed somewhere in the Remote Area. which can fire the Rcokets in a Single command send by somewhere in the Field Office or a Head quarters

Stand Alone Mode 

      if your are somewhere with the Pinaka Battery and Found some illegal activities to in the Zone. and you have the order of Fire. you can fire without the need of anything thing .Just you need the Pinaka Launcher the Command Post and the Radar set. here you go. 

      If we compare the cost of the System with other MBRL the Jugaad king cost less money.and as of now the Mark II Version Pinaka Can engage targets upto some 60 Kilometers with the CEP of some 2m. The Pinaka can house different kind of Warheads like  250kg of HE or Anti Tank mines and Anti tank Bombs. The Entire Pinaka system is NBC ( Nuclear, Biological and Chemical) protected. so you can use the Pinaka system in any worst case scenarios. 

    The Army have Plans to add more wings to the Pinaka by adding this with the Indian Army ACCS system which is a integrated  Artillery firing command that can give order to the Pinaka which is nearby the Threat zone. 

        As of now three Indian Army Regiments using the Pinaka MBRL System deployed in various area's near to the Border. the DRDO also have Plans to increase the Range of Pinaka to double by adding boosters in the Rocket to engage targets upto some 120 kilometers.  

Pinaka Mark I Version