At a recent ceremony organised at the Gun Carriage Factory, Jabalpur, the first six ‘Dhanush’ guns have been handed over to the Indian Army. The guns were flagged off by Saurabh Kumar, the director general of the Ordnance Factories and the chairman of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). Dr Ajay Kumar, the secretary of Defence Production to the Government of India was the chief guest, while Lt General PK Srivastava, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, the director general of Artillery, was the guest of honour. The ceremony also saw Lt General RS Salaria, VSM, Commandant School of Artillery, Major General Manmeet Singh, MG Artillery HQ Western Command Chandi Mandir, among others.
The ‘Dhanush’ 155mm x 45 calibre modern artillery gun system, developed jointly with the Indian Army and manufactured by the Ordnance Factories, received bulk production clearance in February and the initial order of 114 Guns was placed on the OFB. Significant contributions have also been made by the DRDO, public sector units such as SAIL and BEL and several private sector firms.
‘Dhanush’ incorporates the latest features such as an inertial navigation system, an on-board ballistic computer, direct day and night firing system, a modern target acquisition system and a communication system that makes the weapon compatible with the Army’s project—‘Shakti’.
Weighing less than 13 tonnes, with a high ground clearance of 400 mm, a range of elevation from -3? to 70 ? and an arc of traverse of 60?, ‘Dhanush’ is the most maneuverable artillery system and can be deployed in any terrain.
The gun has evolved as the most modern gun system in its own right, independent of its lineage. The gun weighs 700 kg more than the 155mm/39 calibre Bofors and has an 877mm longer barrel. It has a larger chamber volume of 23 liters as compared to 19 liters of the Bofors.
