Cabinet approves Rs 7,000 crore defense deal, indigenous artillery guns to be purchased

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has cleared a Rs 7,000 crore defense contract. The contract is to purchase the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS). It is important to note that it is India's indigenous designed and developed artillery gun. The government says that this contract is a big step in the direction of self-reliance in artillery guns. ATAGS is a 155 mm long artillery gun that will greatly enhance the Indian force's capabilities.

Under this Rs 7,000 crore artillery gun deal, 307 guns with a range of 45-48 kilometers will be purchased. 327 cannon-carrying vehicles will also be purchased. DRDO has designed and developed ATAGS. Bharat Forge and Tata Advanced Systems will jointly produce it. Bharat Forge will make 60 percent of artillery guns and Tata Advanced Systems will make 40 percent of artillery guns.

DRDO started developing ATAGS in the year 2013. After this, many trials were conducted and in the year 2021-22, its tests were successful in cold and mountainous areas. Its tests were also conducted in a hot environment in Pokhran, Rajasthan. In December last year, the Ministry of Defense also approved the deal for 100 K-9 Vajra cannons jointly manufactured by L&T and South Korea's Hanwha Defense. This deal was more than Rs 7 thousand crore.