ATAGS howitzer tested in Balasore | Photo credit: ANI
Key points
- It is the best weapon in the world, no other county has been able to develop a weapon system of this type: Director of the ATAGS Project
- We hope India has the highest achievement in the artillery weapons system class: Anil Morgaokar, DRDO
Balasore: The Indian-made ATAGS howitzer can meet the Indian army’s full requirement of 1800 artillery gun systems and there is no need to purchase foreign items in this field, a senior DRDO scientist said on Saturday. The indigenous weapon was tested at a facility in Balasore de Odisha.
While speaking to the media, Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) project manager and Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) senior scientist Shailendra V Gade said the weapons system is much better than the legendary Bofors of the Indian Army along with any other artillery weapon. in the world, including Israel’s ATHOS pistol.
The Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) has been developed by the DRDO and produced by two firms Bharat Forge and Tata Advanced Systems Limited. It has already fired more than 2,000 rounds in places like Sikkim near the Chinese border and Pokharan near the Pakistani border.
“The requirement of the Indian Army is 1580 towed artillery guns and apart from that they need 150 ATAGS and another 114 Dhanush guns. So a total of 1,800 guns is required. The way the ATAGS is working and it comes out, I’m sure this full requirement of 1,800 guns can only be met with this weapon, “Gade said.
Emphasizing the remarkable range of the cannon, Gade said that the cannon developed by DRDO is the longest firing howitzer in the world at 48 km and this will help it to be safe during an attack against the enemy.
“The enemy will not be able to counterattack you, since they could not reach you, but you can reach them at 30 miles. You may be five miles behind their attack range but still hit you,” he said.
When asked if ATAGS was better than the weapons available with China and Pakistan, Gade said, “In fact, this is the best weapon in the world because no other country has been able to build such a system on top of this high technology with a high rate of firepower. “
The Indian Army is considering the procurement of around 1600 artillery guns and was considering Israeli ATHOS guns as an option for rapid induction of 400 pieces.
