The Indian Field Gun is a towed

field gun A field gun is a field artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances (field artillery ...

developed in India and extensively used in the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

Development

The

Armament Research and Development Establishment In India, the Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE) is a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Located in Pune, it is the main DRDO lab involved in the development of conventional weapons, conve ...

(ARDE) began the design and development of the gun in 1972 to replace the older 25-pounder guns used by the Indian Army. It was produced in the Gun Carriage Factory (GCF), Jabalpur from 1978 onwards. In addition to the GCF, the guns have been manufactured at Gun Carriage Factory Jabalpur. The shells are manufactured at ordnance factories in Ambajhari and

Chandrapur Chandrapur (earlier known as ''Chanda'', the official name until 1964) is a city and a municipal corporation in Chandrapur district, Maharashtra state, India. It is the district headquarters of Chandrapur district. Chandrapur is a fort city ...

. It shares many features with the British

L118 light gun The L118 light gun is a 105 mm towed howitzer. It was originally designed and produced in the United Kingdom for the British Army in the 1970s. It has since been widely exported. The L119 and the United States Army's M119 are variants that use a ...

. It's suitable to operate in mountainous and other difficult terrains, because this gun has excellent portability. Ranjit Lal Jetley at the Pragati Maidan Defence exhibition

Ranjit Lal Jetley at the Pragati Maidan Defence exhibition

Variants

Towed

The Indian Field Gun (IFG) weighs . It has a normal rate of fire of four rounds per minute over ranges from . It can sustain an intense rate of fire of six rounds per minute for up to 10 minutes and a sustained rate of fire for up to one hour. It has a crew of six. The gun has a secondary anti-tank capability. It can operate in temperatures ranging from . The recoil on firing is absorbed by two side-mounted hydraulic cylinders. A circular platform provided with the gun can be used for rapid 360° movement. Manufacture of the Indian Field Gun began in 1978. There are three variants: *Indian Field Gun Mark 1 *Indian Field Gun Mark 2 *Indian Field Gun Mark 3 The Light Field Gun (LFG) variant weights , but retains the same rate of fire and range as the IFG. The LFG can be broken down into two or three parts for easy transport and quickly re-assembled. The LFG can be heli-lifted and paradropped. The manufacture of the Light Field Gun began in 1984. There are two variants: *Light Field Gun Mark 1 *Light Field Gun Mark 2

Self propelled

OFB 105 mm SPG OFB 105mm SPG is an Indian self-propelled tracked artillery. It has been developed & manufactured by Ordnance Development Centre, Ordnance Factory Medak. This is developed from Light Field Gun mounted on BMP 2 Sarath (licensed manufactured ...

– consists of a BMP Sarath hull mounted with a light field gun. It was developed by ordnance development centre,

Ordnance Factory Medak Ordnance Factory Medak (OFMK) (Hindi: आयुध निर्माणी मेदक), previously called Ordnance Factory Project Medak (OFPM) while in its development stage, is a factory owned by Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited, a company t ...

, but has not been inducted into the Indian Army. *Garuda 105 (Version 2) – a 105 mm/37 calibre LFG gun is mounted on an all terrain

4×4 A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pro ...

wheeled chassis. This gun has all-terrain maneuverability (including high altitude). Based on the LFG, this gun has been developed by Kalyani Strategic Systems, a subsidiary of Bharat Forge.

Operators

* : 2,400 FGs in service with the Indian army. 1,700 are IFGs and 700 are LFGs. * : 10 in service, provided by India.

References