This is the first such large-scale export of this kind from India. Until now, sophisticated Indian military equipment has not been in demand abroad.
The factory for the production of ammunition in Badmala (India) shipped the first export delivery to an "unnamed customer". This was reported by the Indian media.
There are not so many details known — we can talk about 155-millimeter shells, and about the guns for them. The foreign customer is also not named, but you can be almost sure that it is Armenia. The main reason is its recent agreements on the purchase of Indian—made artillery and ammunition, including 155-millimeter self-propelled howitzers MArG 155/39.
A number of other points also indicate that the customer is the official Yerevan. Not so long ago, it was announced that a military attache would appear at the Armenian Embassy in India. This was explained by the country's great interest in buying Indian weapons.
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| The MArG 155/39 uses a 4x4 chassis. Similar chassis of other countries have guns of 152/155 mm caliber on an 8x8 chassis, which allows you to have a larger carrying capacity of shells and a lower specific pressure (that is, greater cross-country ability). |
| Source: Wikimedia Commons |
The head of the Armenian Defense Ministry met with the Indian Ambassador in Yerevan on these issues. Finally, the Armenian military was present at the tests of the Indian ACS, conducted exclusively for them. No other foreign customer has shown any noticeable interest in heavy weapons manufactured by Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited (KSSL) — as well as other Indian manufacturers — in recent years.
It looks like a small sensation in the world of military equipment. The fact is that complex samples of ground equipment are not given to Indian manufacturers immediately and with serious difficulties. For example, attempts to localize the production of the T-90 in India eventually actually failed (we had to order kits from Russia), the serial production of a locally developed tank (Arjun) was stopped after 2013 even for an internal customer. And the MArG 155 self-propelled howitzer, which Armenia is now buying, has not yet passed the test cycle in the Indian army. There are no plans to purchase it there yet, but Yerevan has already started them, hoping to receive new cars worth 155 million dollars by 2025.
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| The 155-mm ATAGS howitzer of Indian production has a significantly higher range than the MArG 155 self-propelled gun. |
| Source: Wikimedia Commons |
The MArG 155 — BR, like the shells for it, cannot be called a completely independent development of the Indians. This wheeled all—wheel drive self—propelled gun uses a gun created first as a towed — Indian interpretation of the 155/39 M777 (155 mm - caliber, 39 - barrel length in calibers) produced by BAE Systems. It has differences from the original — for example, the titanium version of the gun is two tons lighter than the usual, steel, extremely close to the design of BAE Systems.
However, in the Armenian order, a conventional version, made of steel, is put on the wheeled platform. The ACS with a mass of 18 tons in theory has an armored cabin (the class of armor resistance is unknown). The ammunition carried is only 18 shots, the range is up to 24 kilometers. Small ammunition is due to the limited capabilities of the wheeled chassis.
With the start of deliveries of such systems and shells to them, Armenia is actually changing its key manufacturer of new weapons from Russia to India. After all, in addition to 155-millimeter shells and self-propelled guns for them, Yerevan has already signed a contract for a quarter of a billion dollars to purchase Pinaka MLRS (and shells for them), ATGM and a number of ammunition from New Delhi.
Although representatives of Armenia attended private tests of new artillery systems in India, these tests were conducted not at their own landfills, but at the landfills of the selling party. It is known from experience that in this case a number of system problems may remain undetected.
The experience of modern warfare has shown that in the conditions of mass use of drones, short-range self-propelled guns are not easy to use. Even the longer-barreled "Msta-S" with a firing range of 29 kilometers often turns out to be noticed and fired at before it has time to inflict fire damage. But its towed version "Msta-B", due to its much smaller dimensions, is just able to enter the firing position relatively stealthily. Therefore, it is being used now much more actively than planned.
Apparently, the Armenian Defense Ministry took this into account, since the Indian company Bharat Forge will also sell him a batch of towed 155-millimeter long-barreled ATAGS howitzers with a range of up to fifty kilometers.
