The performance evaluation of 155 mm towed guns – 400 of which are required by the army to modernise its artillery – were scheduled in February after the Defexpo. The two competitors – BAE Systems and Singapore Technologies came prepared.
With rescheduling of the trials, sources said, the army’s hope to complete the evaluation process early for a quick decision, has considerably faded. Since the firing has to be done at cold climate and desert conditions, the evaluation process could take 6-12 months, said a BAE Systems official.
Incidentally, Indian army currently uses similar but older generation guns – FH 77 BO2 – which are more popularly known as “Bofors guns”.
BAE’s new guns FH 77 BO5 are pitted against ST Engineering’s FH-2000 in a $ 1.8 billion contract.
Even though trials were stalled for quite some time for ongoing investigations in corruption cases involving ST, the defence ministry allowed the trials in December with the caveat that no purchase decision would be made till the investigations are over.
The conditional trial is expected to cut down the time delay.
Army chief Gen Deepak Kapoor publicly expressed his concerns on the absence of modern guns in the artillery regiments. But Defence Minister A K Antony while admitting sluggishness in the acquisition, stressed on spending the money judiciously as it is taxpayer's money.
While the future of the towed guns remains uncertain, BAE System’s M777 ultra light weight howitzer is likely to be inducted as New Delhi is procuring these guns from the US through the foreign military sales (FMS) process.
The Obama Administration has informed the Congress that it approved sale of 145 M777 to India through the FMS route. The negotiations are going on to zero in on evaluation and costs.
M777 is one of the lightest 155mm howitzers in the world, which is being used by the US army in Afghanistan. Since it can be carried in helicopter, these guns can be deployed at short notice.