India to acquire $800m artillery

The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) is reportedly planning to acquire artillery worth $800m as part of its Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan (FARP).

The decision will see the South Asian nation purchase modified variants of the K-9 self-propelled howitzers developed by South Korea-based Samsung Techwin.

India is currently negotiating the price quotes with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on implementing the modifications, reported Forecast International.

The K9 howitzer features a 155mm / 52 calibre gun with a burst rate of fire of three rounds every 15 seconds, and a maximum rate of fire of six to eight rounds a minute.

The gun can fire a standard M107 high-explosive (HE) projectile to a maximum range of 18km.

The maximum range of the HE rocket-assisted projectile (RAP) is 30km. The gun can also fire a K307 projectile with a modular-charge of six zones to a range of more than 40km.

In 2014, the Defence Ministry revived its artillery gun programme for the army upon recommendations from to Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) to procure 814 truck-mounted 155mm / 52 calibre artillery guns for Rs15.75bn.

The Tribune reports that the country has called off similar proposals six times in the past two decades due to blacklisting, allegations of corruption and single-vendor set-up.