114 long-range artillery gun ‘Dhanush’ Gets Clearance from Defence Ministry!

The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) got clearance for bulk production of 114 'Dhanush' artillery guns from Indian Army and the Defence Ministry.

'Dhanush' is the first long-range artillery gun which is going to be produced in India and is the greatest success story of the 'Make in India' initiative, Defence ministry said.

The clearance was received on Monday. The gun is equipped with an inertial navigation-based sighting system, auto-laying facility, onboard ballistic computation and an advanced day and night direct firing system.

The self-propulsion unit allows the gun to negotiate and deploy itself in mountainous terrains easily.

Dhanush' is upgraded Mechanically to fire standard NATO 155 mm ammunition and it can also accommodate the bi-modular charge system (BMCS) which can increase the range.

It has also been electronically upgraded to increase the firing accuracy, laying speed of the existing gun. It also helps to provide compatibility with various kinds of ammo.

The performance of the gun has been tested under critical conditions in many phases.

"The guns traveled extensively in a towed and self-propelled mode in all terrains viz desert and high altitude with each gun clocking over 1600 km. Such an extensive exercise was carried out by the user for the first time for any gun system under the process of induction," (sic) Defence Ministry said.

'Dhanush' is the outcome of the efforts by the OFB and the Army with contributions from the DRDO, DGQA, DPSUs such as Bharat Electronics Limited, PSUs such as SAIL and many private enterprises.