Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System

The Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) is a towed howitzer (artillery weapon), developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to add advanced guns in the Indian Army.

Key Points

• The 155 mm/52 calibre artillery gun has been jointly developed by the DRDO in association with the private players Bharat Forge (Kalyani Group) and the Tata Power SED.
• The ATAGS is configured with an all-electric drive for ensuring reliable and maintenance-free operation for a longer period of time.
• The gun has advanced features such as auxiliary power mode, high mobility, advanced communication system, quick deployability, automatic command, and control system, etc.
• Also, this gun is at least 2 tons lighter than the guns of the same category.
• It has been designed to provide more accuracy and better range. Along with this, the gun is capable of firing 5 successive rounds in a short duration.
• The ATAGS project was started by DRDO in the year 2013, with an aim to introduce the modernized 155mm artillery guns in the Indian army and replacing the older guns in service.
• In the year 2017, the gun created a world record by firing the round to a distance of 47.2 kilometres.
• In September 2020, the gun suffered a barrel burst and an investigation is in the process to determine the cause of the incident.

User Trials of ATAGS to complete mid-2021

The user trials are scheduled to be resumed in December this year and are expected to be completed by mid-2021. The guns will be taken to Balasore, Odisha for initial proof firing trials. Once the user trials of ATAGS will be over, the Army will have to send the request for proposal (RFP). The Indian Army requires 1580 guns of this category and Israel’s Elbit Systems was shortlisted for procurement.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

It is a research and development agency under the Ministry of Defence. It was formed in the year 1958 and is headquartered in New Delhi.

Recently, the Indian Navy has successfully test-fired BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile in Anti-Ship mode.  BrahMos missile has been jointly developed by Russia’s NPOM and DRDO as Brahmos Aerospace Private Limited.