India's next big shot: Homegrown mobile artillery heads for trial post-Sindoor triumph

Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System. (Photo: DRDO)

Buoyed by the success of Operation Sindoor, India is poised to accelerate key defence projects. With a slew of defence acquisitions in the pipeline, India is amping up its military infrastructure. The country is now gearing up for the trials of the indigenous mobile artillery gun. An NDTV report says that the mobile artillery is likely to see deployment across challenging geographies — from the Thar Desert to the Siachen Glacier.

Christened the ‘Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System’ (ATAGS), the mobile artillery boasts higher accuracy. DRDO says its consistency is “best in class worldwide.” Other salient features include “higher rate of fire for burst, intense and sustained,” and an “advanced optronics sight for direct firing at targets up to 1.5 km, during both day and night,” among others. The artillery gun system has been designed to engage targets in both direct and indirect fire modes, the DRDO said.

The project was sanctioned in 2012, with the Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) of the DRDO designated as the nodal agency. Quoting ARDE chief A. Raju, the NDTV report said the mobile artillery has been designed with key aspects in mind, such as a superior rate of fire, all-weather deployment, and operational consistency.

The DRDO has developed the mobile artillery in collaboration with private partners. Tata Advanced Systems is one of the key private partners. “Tata Advanced Systems was one of the development agencies nominated to design and develop an indigenous 155/52mm towed gun incorporating futuristic technologies in electrical, electronics, mechanical design and analysis. The 155/52mm calibre Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) programme envisages selective development of various technologies to achieve better performance to meet user requirements,” the company says on its website while referring to the project.