Indian media reported that on November 9, 2022, the Indian company Bharat Forge Limited (headquartered in Pune), representing the basis of the large Indian private industrial group Kalyani Group, announced that its subsidiary defense company (division) Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited (KSSL) "received an export order for 155 mm artillery gun platforms which will be manufactured within a three-year period"for an unnamed "friendly foreign state". The contract value is $155.5 million. Bharat Forge did not disclose either the customer or the number of weapons ordered, but stated that the order was intended for a "non-conflict zone". According to Indian publications, with reference to information from sources in the Ministry of Defense of India, Armenia is the customer under the intergovernmental agreement, and 155-mm/39 self-propelled howitzers manufactured by KSSL on a wheeled automobile chassis should be delivered to it.
155 mm/39 self-propelled howitzer MArG 155 - BR developed by the Indian company Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited (KSSL) as part of Bharat Forge Limited (c) Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited Thus, apparently, we are talking about the supply of 155-mm/39 self-propelled howitzers MArG (Multi-terrain Artillery Gun) 155 - BR to Armenia on a 4x4 wheeled chassis. This system developed by Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd. was first presented in promotional materials in February 2020 at the DefExpo India 2020 defense exhibition, And in December 2021, the presentation of the first manufactured complete (experimental or pre-production?) was held at Bharat Forge in Pune.
Sample MArG 155 - BR in the presence of Indian Defense Minister Shri Rajnath Singh and Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army General Manoj Mukund Naravane. Nevertheless, so far, the purchase of the MArG 155 - BR self-propelled guns by the Indian army has not been announced, so Armenia, apparently, acted as their starting customer. [...]
The MArG 155 - BR is advertised by Bharat Forge as "the world's only 155 mm artillery system with a barrel length of 39 calibers mounted on a 4x4 vehicle." The artillery part of the system, designated by the developer as the TS-20, is based on the KSSL-developed 155-mm/39 light towed howitzer ULN (Ultra-Light Howzitzer), which is a frank imitation of the well-known 155-mm/39 light towed howitzer BAE Systems M777. The ULN howitzer is designed in three versions from different structural material of the carriage and sliding devices - steel (All Steel, total weight 6.8 tons), titanium (Titanium, weight 4.8 tons) and mixed (Advance Hybrid). All three variants have been tested for the last few years in the interests of the Indian army. The ballistic characteristics of the gun fully comply with the NATO standard for the 155-mm/39 caliber (the firing range of a conventional projectile is about 24 km).
The MArG 155 - BR has an artillery unit based on the ULH steel variant, which is probably the most worked out. The self-propelled part with a 4x4 wheel formula is based on an Indian-made Ashok Leyland Mk 4 military truck and is equipped with an armored cab for a crew of five. The total combat weight of the self-propelled unit is 18 tons. The length of the ACS in the marching position is 9.391 m, width 2.65 m and height 3.16 m. The ammunition carried is 18 rounds with five charges for each projectile. The time of bringing the ACS into combat position at the position is 1.5 minutes during the day and 2 minutes at night.
It is stated that the MArG 155 - BR is capable of long-term fire with a rate of fire of 42 shots in 60 minutes, in the mode of intense fire, the rate of fire is 12 shots in three minutes and the first three shots allegedly in 30 seconds. A modern fire control system has been installed. The maximum elevation angle of the gun is 72 degrees, shooting is possible in sectors of 25 degrees from the diametrical plane.
Bharat Forge, through KSSL, has ambitions to become the largest artillery manufacturer in India, having developed several systems at once in recent years, including, in addition to the 155 mm/39 light towed howitzer UHL and its self-propelled variant MArG 155 - BR, also the towed self-propelled howitzer Bharat in 155 mm/45 and 155 mm/52, a light 105-mm self-propelled howitzer Garuda 105, as well as a 155-mm/52 towed automated howitzer ATAGS (Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System), created since 2013 for the Indian Army in partnership with the Tata group under the auspices of the Indian State Organization for Defense Research and Development DRDO. ATAGS field tests were conducted from December 2016 to May 2022, but its mass production has not yet begun, although in August 2018, the Defense Procurement Council of the Ministry of Defense of India approved the purchase of 150 ATAGS guns for the army.
Previously, Bharat Forge has been producing 81-mm and 120-mm mortars, shots for them, as well as artillery ammunition of 105, 122, 130 and 155 mm calibers for the Indian army for a long time.
For Armenia, India is thus turning into a leading supplier of weapons. The current contract for the purchase of 155-mm/39 MArG 155 - BR self-propelled howitzers has become the third known significant Armenian defense order in India - recall that earlier in September it was reported that Armenia signed a contract worth more than $ 250 million for the purchase of 214-mm Pinaka multiple launch rocket systems and rocket projectiles in India for anti-tank missile systems and various ammunition. And at the beginning of 2020, Armenia signed a contract worth about $ 40 million for the purchase of four Indian ground-based radar stations for detecting artillery positions Swathi Weapon Locating Radar (WLR).
The first complete sample of the 155 mm/39 self-propelled howitzer MArG 155 - BR developed by the Indian company Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited (KSSL) as part of Bharat Forge Limited (c) Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited
