India invites proposals for 2.5 billion-dollar artillery contract

Agence France Press ^ | 14 January 2008

[sukhoi-30mki]

India invites proposals for 2.5 billion-dollar artillery contract

(AFP)

14 January 2008

NEW DELHI - India on Monday said it had invited proposals from global weapons manufacturers for the purchase of 140 medium calibre artillery guns worth 2.5 billion dollars.

‘The RFP (request for proposals) for the procurement of 140 ultra-light howitzer guns has been issued,’ Indian army chief Deepak Kapoor told reporters on the sidelines of a military function.

‘The army will issue global tenders shortly for the procurement of the 155-millimetre (six-inch) howitzers,’ he said and added a separate bid for 155 ‘advanced guns’—or heavy weaponry—would be also floated in ‘a month or so’.

The general did not specify the value of the second artillery contract but military experts said it would be a much larger order.

Military sources said New Delhi would purchase a part of the consignment off the shelf while the rest would be manufactured under licence in India.

The announcement kickstarts the million-plus army’s plans to modernise its ageing Soviet-era equipment, analysts said.

India in 2001 floated global tenders for 400 guns but scrapped the contract last year after testing the hardware sent by Israeli, British and South African firms vying for the deal, which was quoted at 1.5 billion dollars.

South Africa’s state-owned Denel armament firm has also been blacklisted by India on charges of corruption in a separate weapons deal.

Kapoor admitted the delay had hit the modernisation programme of the army, which is locked in a bloody combat with cross-border Islamist militants in disputed Kashmir.

The Indian army has not bought heavy weaponry since 1986 when the purchase of 410 artillery guns worth 1.23 billion dollars from then Swedish firm Bofors sparked allegations that politicians took bribes to clinch the deal.

The scandal contributed to the collapse of the government of then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1989, which prompted a permanant ban on middlemen in defence deals.

Last month, India said it had scrapped a 600-million-dollar deal to buy 197 military helicopters from EADS arm Eurocopter due to allegations of corruption in the bidding process.

The cancellation came after a court ordered Indian police to complete a probe into charges that a bribe was also paid in a three-billion dollar deal to buy six Scorpene submarines from a French defence firm.

However, in August 2007 India opened bids from defence contractors for 126 fighter jets in the world’s largest military aircraft deal valued at more than 10 billion dollars.

India has emerged as one of the biggest buyers of military equipment among developing countries.

[Candor7]

Reminds me of the old "Mountain Guns" used in WW II, produced by Germany and used by the Japanese. They were dismantled and carried by teams of soldiers. Heavy suckers too!

Vickers-Maxim QF 2.95 inch mountain gun,British made, used by the USA in WWI.

I don't believe the USA uses them anymore, preferring mortars, hand held rockets, and recoiless rifles. The traditional mountain guns limit team mobility, which apparently does not concern the Army of India in this application. The implication is that the Indian Army wants to fortify its high mountainous borders in Kashmir with stationary artillery sites. If the Tibetans had done that, the Chicoms would have never gotten into Tibet en masse. It takes little to seal off mountain passes, and I guess these guns may be for that purpose.

[Yo-Yo]

These days,the "Mountain Guns" are delivered by helicopter, not dragged up the hill.

What India wants is something like the US M777 that is light enough to be slung under a helicopter, or V-22 Osprey.

[samadams2000]

Buy ATK. The ammo maker that will benefit whatever they buy.

[TheBlueMax]

I agree that India would love to get their hands on the triple 7, but I don’t think the State Department would approve of that sale, with the Hindu-Kush up for grabs.

[MimirsWell]

Can you explain that? Hindukush might be up for grabs for the US and NATO allies in Afghanistan but its a long way away from any part of India.

[sukhoi-30mki]

The triple-7 is a British design,owned by a British company,but which is built in the US,with considerable US parts.If India wants it,the company can un-americanise it,like it did with the Hawk trainer aircraft,by removing American systems from it.

BAE systems is offering another product of it’s to India-a self propelled howitzer built by it’s Swedish subsidiary.

[sukhoi-30mki]

India has a requirement for heavy self propelled howitzers as well as light weight ones.The heavy ones can be deployed in semi-mountainous & desert regions while the lighter ones could be taken to more demanding territory.

[Candor7]

Wow. That saves a lot of grunt work!

[Candor7]

I can see India digging caves into the mountain sides for this. Some of the border areas are reallly steep.

[sukhoi-30mki]

Some of India’s mountainous regions are too high for helicopters or even probably the V-22 to fly with such a heavy load.They’d have to be towed over there.

[Yo-Yo]

The light air must also play havoc with the ballistic tables, too!

[Yo-Yo]

Light air? Try THIN air, you Yo-Yo!

[BnBlFlag]

If I’m not mistaken, the Marine Corps still uses a good light Howitzer. Maybe they could use that.

[sukhoi-30mki]

Are you referring to the M-777????It’s a British designed & owned gun,but built in the US.

[BnBlFlag]

Yes. But I didn’t realize it was a British system.

[sukhoi-30mki]

Well,on the ground,it’s more or less Yankee!!!Most of it’s parts are sourced from American companies,so don’t know how an export variant would look like.