Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan

The Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan is a procurement-cum-development plan of the Indian Army. The programme was drafted in 1999 in the aftermath of the Kargil war, emboldened by the success of the 155mm Bofors guns in its inventory. The programme was slated to replace the weapons of 169 artillery regiments with modern weapon systems, predominantly of 155mm calibre. The procurement involves direct import, manufacture under license, as well as inhouse development of artillery weapon systems.

Under the Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan, the army plans to procure approximately 3000–3600 weapons, at a cost of over with an outlay of over Rs 20,000 crore (approximately US$3 billion). This includes the initial purchase of 1580 towed, 814 mounted, 180 self-propelled wheeled, 100 self-propelled tracked, and 145 ultra-light 155 mm/52 calibre artillery guns. The FARP was further amplified by the Artillery Profile 2027 (acquisition plan), which was drafted in year 2008.

Towed guns

TBD

Mounted guns

TBD

Self-propelled wheeled guns

TBD

Self-propelled tracked guns

TBD

Ultra-light Howitzers

After three years of searching and negotiations, India ordered M777 155  ultra-light howitzer from USA in September 2013.

The Indian Army first announced plans to acquire 145 guns for , but purchase plans were overtaken when the procurement process was restarted in July 2010. India's Ministry of Defence cleared the proposal for buying 145 guns for US$660 million on 11 May 2012 through the US Government's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process. This was put up before the Ministry of Finance for clearance and will subsequently be taken up by the Cabinet Committee on Security for final approval. On 2 August 2013, India requested the sale of 145 M777 howitzers for US$885 million. On 24 February 2014 the purchase was again postponed. On 11 May 2014 the purchase was cleared by India's Ministry of Defence. On 11 July 2014, the Government of India announced that it would not order the guns because of cost issues. On 22 November 2014, the selection process was restarted under the " Make In India" program. On 13 May 2015, the Ministry of Defence approved ₹29 billion (₹2,900 crore) to buy 145 M777 ultralight howitzers from the US. On 15 December 2015, the Indian Ministry of Defence said it was keen on placing a follow-up order of 500 more M777 guns.

On 26 June 2016, it was announced that 145 guns will be purchased by India for US$750 million. The Indian government completed the deal on 30 November 2016. Under the agreement, BAE Systems was to supply 25 ready-built howitzers, while 120 guns were to be manufactured in India by Mahindra Defence Systems Limited. A total of 7 artillery regiments are planned, each of 18 guns. The first regiment was planned to be raised by end-2020 with 15 guns supplied by BAE systems and three guns supplied by Mahindra Defense Systems Limited.

The Indian Army received its first shipment comprising two howitzers on 18 May 2017 in New Delhi from United States in ready to use condition. It was reported that on 2 September 2017, the barrel of one of the howitzers was damaged while firing during calibration trials. The procurement of 145 guns was completed by 2023.

The Indian army used the M777 howitzer in the Himvijay exercise (2021) in Arunachal Pradesh which involved the newly raised integrated battle groups.

In July 2020, in the wake of escalating tension with China in light of hostile Chinese posturing, particularly on the border between the Union Territory of Ladakh and Chinese-occupied Tibet, further purchases of Excalibur shells were announced by the Indian Ministry of Defence. Discussions began in 2023 between India and the United States to develop an extended range of the M777 howitzer called as the M777 (ER), with India planning to upgrade all its M777 guns to this standard.

References

{{Military of India

Military of India
Artillery of India