Indian Army to Acquire 307 Advanced Towed Artillery Gun Systems in 2025, Tata and Kalyani in Competition

The Indian Army is set to significantly bolster its artillery capabilities with the procurement of 307 Advanced Towed Artillery Gun Systems (ATAGS) in 2025.

This announcement was made by Lt Gen Adosh Kumar, the Director General of Artillery, confirming the acquisition of this indigenously developed 155 mm/52 caliber howitzer.

The ATAGS program, spearheaded by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in partnership with Kalyani Group and Tata Advanced Systems Limited, has successfully completed user trials and is cleared for production.

This acquisition is a major step towards modernizing the Indian Army's artillery and enhancing its combat readiness, particularly in challenging high-altitude environments like the border with Tibet.

The ATAGS boasts impressive range capabilities, exceeding NATO standards with its 25-litre chamber design. Utilizing specialized ammunition like the Extended Range Sub-Bore Boat Tail (ERFB BT) and ERFB Base Bleed (ERFB BB), the howitzer can strike targets at distances of 35 km and 45 km respectively, with a record firing range of 47 km achieved in 2017. This extended range provides a crucial advantage in critical situations.

Designed to withstand the harsh conditions of high-altitude warfare, the ATAGS has undergone rigorous testing in diverse terrains, including high-altitude ranges in Sikkim and the desert in Rajasthan. These trials included sustained firing drills at altitudes over 13,000 feet, low-temperature performance checks, and direct fire exercises on tank-sized targets both during day and night.

The journey of the ATAGS has not been without challenges. In 2020, a barrel burst during testing in Pokhran, leading to a setback in the program. Subsequent trials in 2021 revealed the need for further modifications to meet the Army's stringent criteria. However, successful trials in 2022 at the Pokhran Test Range paved the way for its final approval.

The contract for the ATAGS is expected to be finalized in March 2025. While the specific variant to be procured remains undisclosed, both Tata and Kalyani have developed their versions of the gun based on the DRDO's Technology Transfer (ToT), each with unique design elements and parameters.

 

[Satya Dev]

Baba kalyani had once said that they have capacity to manufacture 150 ATAGs per year.
I don't understand why MoD doesn't cancel the orders on AVNL for Dhanush & Sharang (upgrade) guns after they failed to deliver the guns in time.

 

[abhinav srivastava]

Why 2025? Tests and user trials are already over.

 

[Hawk]

Why 2025? Tests and user trials are already over.

Defence procurement is a dead slow process in India. It takes at least 1-2 years from DAC to CCS clearance and contract signing.

 

[GMR]

Defence procurement is a dead slow process in India. It takes at least 1-2 years from DAC to CCS clearance and contract signing.

+ WaIting will be 2-3 more yrs. before 1st gun is handled over to IA.. IF, IF contract is signed by March '25

 

[Akshat]

Such a shameful day for us. A gun that fail to meet our army’s requirements and for which fresh new trucks had to be bought at extra cost, thus reducing the number of guns our forces can buy. But still we are being forced to buy it despite having better domestic alternatives. All just to satisfy the ego of the DRDO. This will destroy our artillery capabilities.

 

[PRASANTh]

Such a shameful day for us. A gun that fail to meet our army’s requirements and for which fresh new trucks had to be bought at extra cost, thus reducing the number of guns our forces can buy. But still we are being forced to buy it despite having better domestic alternatives. All just to satisfy the ego of the DRDO. This will destroy our artillery capabilities.

I would like to politely disagree here.
The gun is over-engineered - 25l chamber, electrical ammo feed, powered movement, and at 52 cal - tremendous range. And hence the weight.

Is it a good gun? Yes.
is it the best ? No.
is jt cheap ? I don't know, probably is (lemme know)

Also, 300 trucks is peanuts compared to the rest of the capex of Indian army.

 

[Akshat]

I would like to politely disagree here.
The gun is over-engineered - 25l chamber, electrical ammo feed, powered movement, and at 52 cal - tremendous range. And hence the weight.

Is it a good gun? Yes.
is it the best ? No.
is jt cheap ? I don't know, probably is (lemme know)

Also, 300 trucks is peanuts compared to the rest of the capex of Indian army.

There is no best or good gun bro. There is useful or useless gun, depending on your needs. Our army has a fixed budget. There is nothing leftover from that. So we don’t even have money left for buying peanuts. So if we have to buy new trucks, it means somewhere some compromise has to be made. The original requirement was for 400+ guns. Now that has been reduced to roughly 300 guns and a new gun, weighing under 16 tons, is being developed by all players involved. This shows that either the gun is poor in quality or too expensive (inclusive of trucks) and hence can’t be inducted en masse. So this order is just a consolation prize. We are paying thousands of crores on an item which has no use for us one way or the other.

 

[Sandeep]

Such a shameful day for us. A gun that fail to meet our army’s requirements and for which fresh new trucks had to be bought at extra cost, thus reducing the number of guns our forces can buy. But still we are being forced to buy it despite having better domestic alternatives. All just to satisfy the ego of the DRDO. This will destroy our artillery capabilities.

You keep saying that but you’re forgetting crucial facts. This was a joint development with DRDO and Kalyani and Tata. Two private companies who helped to design, develop and manufacture their own guns so it’s not just a DRDO project alone. Also Kalyani is the best private company and expert in developing artillery guns in the entire country and you still want to blame DRDO alone for one tiny issue.

Also the only issue with the gun is that it’s slightly heavy but other than that the gun performs with perfection and much better than some foreign guns. The crucial factor with the gun is that it has the longest range than any other gun in the world which gives us a military advantage as we can easily hit targets with complete safety. There’s no point in developing a gun with the same range as the enemy as it gives us no advantage which is what military’s need.

Also every new gun needs new trucks as well because they can’t use trucks that are already in use with other artillery regiments as they wouldn’t have enough to go around. Also those artillery regiments are deployed across the country and they need trucks that are with them rather than waiting for the driver to drive to the other side of India.Those trucks will also be indigenously developed and manufactured in India so the money is being spent within our own economy and it’s a win-win situation. Also those guns can propel by itself with the shoot and scoot capability over short distances rather than needing a truck to move it around and keep setting it up which takes time in a war.

Also the nature of warfare is changing very quickly. More cheap or loiter drones are being developed which can specifically take out artillery guns so we need to be careful and not just invest and rely everything on just having more guns alone. This is where the ATAGS has a key benefit and advantage by moving positions carefully and regularly to avoid being targeted and destroyed by them.

 

[Akshat]

You keep saying that but you’re forgetting crucial facts. This was a joint development with DRDO and Kalyani and Tata. Two private companies who helped to design, develop and manufacture their own guns so it’s not just a DRDO project alone. Also Kalyani is the best private company and expert in developing artillery guns in the entire country and you still want to blame DRDO alone for one tiny issue.

Also the only issue with the gun is that it’s slightly heavy but other than that the gun performs with perfection and much better than some foreign guns. The crucial factor with the gun is that it has the longest range than any other gun in the world which gives us a military advantage as we can easily hit targets with complete safety. There’s no point in developing a gun with the same range as the enemy as it gives us no advantage which is what military’s need.

Also every new gun needs new trucks as well because they can’t use trucks that are already in use with other artillery regiments as they wouldn’t have enough to go around. Also those artillery regiments are deployed across the country and they need trucks that are with them rather than waiting for the driver to drive to the other side of India.Those trucks will also be indigenously developed and manufactured in India so the money is being spent within our own economy and it’s a win-win situation. Also those guns can propel by itself with the shoot and scoot capability over short distances rather than needing a truck to move it around and keep setting it up which takes time in a war.

Also the nature of warfare is changing very quickly. More cheap or loiter drones are being developed which can specifically take out artillery guns so we need to be careful and not just invest and rely everything on just having more guns alone. This is where the ATAGS has a key benefit and advantage by moving positions carefully and regularly to avoid being targeted and destroyed by them.

So many excuses without explaining why the overweight gun was developed when army specifically said no to that. New trucks ain’t bought with every order. Did we buy new trucks for Dhanush? Did we buy them when Israeli Athos were being bought? No. But we are buying them for AtAGS while reducing the order size.

And why I am blaming only DRDO? Because DRDO made the basic design and gave it to them both. Then they made small changes. So whatever is common comes from DRDO and that is the problem. The weight is because of DRDO. It’s not a small problem but a massive issue that will destroy our artillery capability.

 

[Sandeep]

These guns are essential to our military as it has the longest range in the world which allows us to hit enemy targets with safety as they can’t reach our guns.

Another benefit is that it’s very technologically advanced than most other guns. The gun has a all electric drive, low maintenance, increased mobility, quick deployment, auxiliary power, automatic command and control, advanced communication, automatic command and control, night and thermal sights, direct fire capable, electric ammunition handling and reloading along being a automatic gun alignment and navigation etc. This gun is very effective, very accurate and very reliable which is why the military should also consider purchasing more. The company should also look at reducing its weight as much as possible to gain more orders for the military.

 

[Sandeep]

So many excuses without explaining why the overweight gun was developed when army specifically said no to that. New trucks ain’t bought with every order. Did we buy new trucks for Dhanush? Did we buy them when Israeli Athos were being bought? No. But we are buying them for AtAGS while reducing the order size.

And why I am blaming only DRDO? Because DRDO made the basic design and gave it to them both. Then they made small changes. So whatever is common comes from DRDO and that is the problem. The weight is because of DRDO. It’s not a small problem but a massive issue that will destroy our artillery capability.

Why it was overweight is something that nobody knows and I’m sure they must have tried to keep the weight in check. This is the first artillery gun of this type that was indigenously developed without any foreign help so they must have wanted to make sure it fired properly, it doesn’t explode or break earlier than other guns. So sometimes you make something that might not be perfect but was developed based on what we knew but you don’t junk the entire gun as useless as you can still use it and fight with it in a war.

Also you’re absolutely wrong. Tata and Kalyani partnered with DRDO to design and manufacture the guns so they were involved in this project right from the start. They helped to design and develop the entire gun as they would have made sure that they are able to manufacture it with their production lines, capabilities and materials.

As for buying new trucks or not for Dhanush it isn’t clear as it depends which regiment it will be replacing and where it is deployed and how many trucks it has. So buying new trucks for the ATAGS isn’t a big issue as the money is staying within the country.

 

[PRASANTh]

There is no best or good gun bro. There is useful or useless gun, depending on your needs. Our army has a fixed budget. There is nothing leftover from that. So we don’t even have money left for buying peanuts. So if we have to buy new trucks, it means somewhere some compromise has to be made. The original requirement was for 400+ guns. Now that has been reduced to roughly 300 guns and a new gun, weighing under 16 tons, is being developed by all players involved. This shows that either the gun is poor in quality or too expensive (inclusive of trucks) and hence can’t be inducted en masse. So this order is just a consolation prize. We are paying thousands of crores on an item which has no use for us one way or the other.

Agreed, towing was not thought thru by drdo. But ATAGS has used ... Desert and plan theatres, with my limited knowledge seems to be an ideal gun. And it will serve well there.

Weight reduction can happen - remove mobility engine and parts, remove assisted loader, use titanium. Believe tata/kalyani is already on it.

 

[Akshat]

Why it was overweight is something that nobody knows and I’m sure they must have tried to keep the weight in check. This is the first artillery gun of this type that was indigenously developed without any foreign help so they must have wanted to make sure it fired properly, it doesn’t explode or break earlier than other guns. So sometimes you make something that might not be perfect but was developed based on what we knew but you don’t junk the entire gun as useless as you can still use it and fight with it in a war.

Also you’re absolutely wrong. Tata and Kalyani partnered with DRDO to design and manufacture the guns so they were involved in this project right from the start. They helped to design and develop the entire gun as they would have made sure that they are able to manufacture it with their production lines, capabilities and materials.

As for buying new trucks or not for Dhanush it isn’t clear as it depends which regiment it will be replacing and where it is deployed and how many trucks it has. So buying new trucks for the ATAGS isn’t a big issue as the money is staying within the country.

Clearly that’s not the case. OFB and Kalyani both have made guns in their first attempt in that weight category. The design of ATAGS is made to be at 18 tons. So it was intentional. DRDO intentionally made the gun so that it can’t be used by the army.

And you are wrong. You don’t know the procedure. When multiple parties develop the product, DRDO designs the base design, and gives it to these parties. They then make it as per their own engineering acumen. That base design itself is faulty.

Money staying within the country doesn’t mean you can buy anything. Else let’s buy 1000000 new trucks and ATAGS? Why stay limited? GoI doesn’t have unlimited money. Atags has destroyed our entire artillery capability and DRDO is solely responsible for it. No new trucks were bought for any other gun.

And you earlier said new trucks are bought for every single gun purchased. Now you are saying trucks will be bought based on which regiment gets it and how many trucks they have. So you have accepted that older trucks are used and only a small number of new trucks is bought if there is a shortfall. But for AtAGS we have to buy new truck for every single gun and that’s how DRdO has destroyed us.

 

[Sandeep]

Clearly that’s not the case. OFB and Kalyani both have made guns in their first attempt in that weight category. The design of ATAGS is made to be at 18 tons. So it was intentional. DRDO intentionally made the gun so that it can’t be used by the army.

And you are wrong. You don’t know the procedure. When multiple parties develop the product, DRDO designs the base design, and gives it to these parties. They then make it as per their own engineering acumen. That base design itself is faulty.

Money staying within the country doesn’t mean you can buy anything. Else let’s buy 1000000 new trucks and ATAGS? Why stay limited? GoI doesn’t have unlimited money. Atags has destroyed our entire artillery capability and DRDO is solely responsible for it. No new trucks were bought for any other gun.

And you earlier said new trucks are bought for every single gun purchased. Now you are saying trucks will be bought based on which regiment gets it and how many trucks they have. So you have accepted that older trucks are used and only a small number of new trucks is bought if there is a shortfall. But for AtAGS we have to buy new truck for every single gun and that’s how DRdO has destroyed us.

The guns have been jointly developed with input from Kalyani and Tata and they have made changes individually which is why they aren’t the same gun. There isn’t a fixed design and automatically given to them just to manufacture otherwise any private company can just copy and manufacture it without needing those two companies. They invest a lot of time and resources in designing and developing guns together and that’s why they get orders after it and they won’t sabotage their plans on manufacturing it afterwards.

Money being invested in trucks isn’t a waste of money as it benefits the economy anyway. So buying new trucks with new guns are mostly done when replacing the old guns.

 

[Akshat]

Agreed, towing was not thought thru by drdo. But ATAGS has used ... Desert and plan theatres, with my limited knowledge seems to be an ideal gun. And it will serve well there.

Weight reduction can happen - remove mobility engine and parts, remove assisted loader, use titanium. Believe tata/kalyani is already on it.

But towing is not a small thing for a gun called towed artillery gun system. Whether the gun has fired well or not is irrelevant. The money, the logistics and the capability is the issue. Now only a small number of regiments can have it, they can’t interchange them, they will need specific training etc. During wartime they will be like a separate force of their own. This will be disastrous.

And yes weight reduction can happen and it is happening. But that will take time and these 300 guns are being procured as it is. So this well be a sure thing for the army.

 

[Blademaster]

T

Clearly that’s not the case. OFB and Kalyani both have made guns in their first attempt in that weight category. The design of ATAGS is made to be at 18 tons. So it was intentional. DRDO intentionally made the gun so that it can’t be used by the army.

And you are wrong. You don’t know the procedure. When multiple parties develop the product, DRDO designs the base design, and gives it to these parties. They then make it as per their own engineering acumen. That base design itself is faulty.

Money staying within the country doesn’t mean you can buy anything. Else let’s buy 1000000 new trucks and ATAGS? Why stay limited? GoI doesn’t have unlimited money. Atags has destroyed our entire artillery capability and DRDO is solely responsible for it. No new trucks were bought for any other gun.

And you earlier said new trucks are bought for every single gun purchased. Now you are saying trucks will be bought based on which regiment gets it and how many trucks they have. So you have accepted that older trucks are used and only a small number of new trucks is bought if there is a shortfall. But for AtAGS we have to buy new truck for every single gun and that’s how DRdO has destroyed us.

You are such a tool for the foreign countries. The Ukraine war has proven the need for mobile towed guns.