Ordnance Factory to make 114 Dhanush

Tribune News Service

Kolkata, February 20

The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has received the “bulk production clearance” (BPC) from the Army and Ministry of Defence for supplying 114 number of ‘Dhanush’, the first-ever indigenous 155mm x 45 calibre artillery gun.

The weapon, according to a PIB (Defence Wing) press release issued here today, is the first long-range artillery gun to be produced in India and is a major success story of the ‘Make in India’ initiative”.

The gun is equipped with inertial navigation-based sighting system, auto-laying facility, on-board ballistic computation and an advanced day-and-night direct firing system. The self-propulsion unit makes the gun easily manoeuvrable in mountainous terrains.

‘Dhanush’ has been mechanically upgraded to fire standard NATO 155 mm ammunition and can accommodate both boll bags and the bi-modular charge system (BMCS). ‘Dhanush’ has also been electronically upgraded to improve firing accuracies and compatibility with various kinds of ammunition.

The performance of ‘Dhanush’ has been evaluated under arduous conditions in several phases. The guns have travelled extensively in towed and self-propelled mode in all terrains, including desert and high altitude areas, with each gun clocking over 1,600 km.

Such an extensive exercise was carried out by the user for the first time for any gun system under the process of induction.

'Dhanush' is the product of joint efforts by the OFB and the Army with contributions from the DRDO, DGQA, DPSUs such as Bharat Electronics Limited, PSUs such as SAIL and several private enterprises.

First Indigenous artillery gun 

• The Ordnance Factory Board will make 114 first indigenous 155mmX45 calibre artillery guns
• According to officials, it is the first long-range artillery gun to be produced in India and is a major success story of the ‘Make in India’ initiative