Agree, the one who can hit the enemy without being seen or coming into contact will have the upper edge.
Time to place the follow on order.
Further CDS should look into the matter and merge the requirement of 180 wheeled SPH to either this category or the MGS category. Simply and reduce.
Turkey and Poland has made several improvement's over the baseline export version. And South Korea now is working on adding to K9
1. Auto Loader
2. Addition cameras to provide 360° field of view
3. Thermal Vision for driver too.
4. Improved navigation using GPS.
5. Improvement in safety features including fire suppression system improvement.
6. Some kind of improved Remote Weapon system having a combined HMG and a ATGM to provide support against close targets.
7. Next Gen APU system.
8. Improvement in fire control system to allow for improved burst fire rates.
Some of these improvement are now incorporated into the latest batch productions for Korean Army. While there aim to to add all of these features and more to all of their fleet.
Hopefully we place a follow on order. L&T has a nice facility with good capacity in place now. We should use that to our advantage. And either ask the Koreans to keep providing the upgrades or allow us to add upgrades to it ourselves.
These two are the only upgrades that we need from the Koreans. The rest already exists in India.
I cannot find a specific news cutting describing Bhim SPH project. I had it on my older mobile, cannot find it again.
But the specifics about requirements were for 400 Self Propelled 52 caliber guns. (This is a separate requirement than the 800+ MGS )
Out of 400 systems it was decided that 200 will be tracked (use Arjun M1 chassis ) and 200 will be wheeled and use an extended version of TATRA chassis.
After that program failed due to ban on Denel. We have been only been able to sign the deal for 100 K9. Hopefully we place a larger order for 300 more such systems soon.
Seach for bhim sph images , brochures are available
It could be a good idea to mount ATAGS gun on arjun
Give the project to l&t
Have tried but couldn't find it.
But found this bit of info. In 2002 the Cabinet Committee on Security had approved the procurement (revised quantity) of 120 Bhim SPH.
As of today, according to Prasun , the present K9 contract is for 82 K9 vehicles and 18 K10 with option for 54 more K9 and 12 more K10, and not 100 K9 + 50 K9 (option )
Also the wheeled SPH for 180 units hasn't been mentioned in any MoD document in past few years. Seems Army has totally shelved that project.
We initially had around 100 105mm FV443s and similar number of 122mm 2S1s.
We also have 130mm M46 Catapult. Don't know the numbers though. Plans were for 40 more if these based on Arjun chassis.
Don't know how true this is.
@hellbent @Ankit Kumar this relevant to the conversation you two were having earlier.
@hellbent @Ankit Kumar this relevant to the conversation you two were having earlier.
Cannot say about the numbers, but yes around a dozen important major sub systems are now under ToT manufactured in India. I cannot say that if those are Indian development or South Korean development.
As for Arjun comparison, I will hold my horses. Both uses MTU engines, but Arjun has 50% more power engine compared to K9 chassis.
The only officially acknowledged effort right now is of Dhanush 52 caliber mounted on TATRA for the MGS competition.
And Army testing a 105mm light gun mounted on a 4×4 by Kalyani.
I don't know of any more efforts in the SPH sector right now.
Arjun Catapult version is of course there, instead of 130mm M46 gun, it would be better if the 155/45 Dhanush gun is used.
I am not sure what they are aiming at. Its not that white thing on the mountain, that's the target for the guns.