Indian Army got new guns on LAC

Ground Report | New Delhi: Indian Army got new guns; The Indian Army has started modernizing its weapons in the eastern sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The Army has replaced the old Bofors air defense guns with new ultra-light howitzers M-777 guns.

Indian Army got new guns

The Eastern Command of Tawang Sector did not elaborate on this, citing strategic and security reasons. Therefore, it is not yet known how many such guns are in this area.

India had bought 145 guns of such M-777, whose first consignment reached the country in 2018. Army officials said that they have now been given in the eastern sector. India had ordered a total of 145 guns, of which almost half have been delivered.

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Brigadier Sanjeev Kumar, chief of the Artillery Brigade in the Tawang sector, said ultra light howitzers have several advantages over the Bofors cannon, which has been a mainstay of India's artillery since the late 1980s.

Speaking at a forward location near the LAC at an altitude of about 13,000 feet, Kumar said its most important advantage over Bofors is that due to its weight, it can be deployed in places where it is difficult to carry older, heavier guns. Is. They can be easily taken to the valleys using Chinook helicopters, and can be carried further along the LAC depending on the need, he added.

new Gun Display Unit

However, the army has continued to deploy Bofors in the forward areas of the LAC as well. The Army has also upgraded them with new automated systems that not only increase their accuracy but also the speed at which they can fire.

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Captain Prateek of Bofors Regiment said that recently a new Gun Display Unit has been introduced in the Army which has added speed and accuracy in providing gun support to infantry units deployed close to the LAC. The effective range of the gun is more than 40 km.

Another official said that with the deployment of new systems for artillery combat and command, what used to take eight minutes earlier can now happen in seconds. "All data can arrive at the location to engage the target, and further deployed personnel transmit the data, which is processed and fired within seconds". It "has enhanced our capabilities and acts as a force multiplier," the official said.

Swedish air defence

Bharat Electricals Limited has upgraded the Swedish air defence guns of the 1960s, enabling it to automatically track aerial threats including small drones, helicopters and aircraft. Describing the capability of these guns, 200 guns have been upgraded at a cost of about Rs 575 crore.

Military officials said the advanced L70 guns were deployed at several key locations in Arunachal Pradesh besides other sensitive locations along the LAC and their induction has significantly enhanced the Army's air defense apparatus.

"The guns can bring down all unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned combat air vehicles, attack helicopters and modern aircraft. The gun enhances target acquisition and automatic target tracking capability with high-resolution electro-optical sensors in all weather conditions which includes a daylight television camera, a thermal imaging camera and a laser-range finder," said Captain Saria Abbasi of the Army Air Defense.

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