Ultra-Light Howitzers for the Army

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The Committee appointed by Defence Minister A K Antony under DRDO Chief V K Saraswat to recommend whether the Army should proceed with procurement of 145 Ultra-Light Howitzers from the US has submitted its report with the government. The Committee has given a go ahead to the government to allow the Army to proceed with the procurement and carry out the remaining trials of the BAE Systems manufactured in the US. The Committee was formed by the Ministry after the leakage of a trial report involving the howitzers.

The leaked report suggested that the guns had underperformed during the trials and the Army was not happy with it. The Ministry had then formed a Committee under DRDO chief Saraswat to submit a report whether the procurement should be realised or not. The ultra-light 155 mm 39 calibre howitzer is supposed to be the first howitzer to have been procured in the last 27 years after the Bofors gun deal after which the procurement in artillery had come to a standstill.