FLASH! Indian 155-mm Self-Propelled Howitzer Big Begins All Over Again

[Iggy]

Ohh please some body tell the ministry and Army that "its ok you can have some kickbags but please buy some artillery ASAP " I am sick and tired of this trials..when are we going to buy one

 

[gogbot]

Waste of time , they should just place an order at Mahidra/BAE and finally get the guns.

 

[Tshering22]

Ohh please some body tell the ministry and Army that "its ok you can have some kickbags but please buy some artillery ASAP " I am sick and tired of this trials..when are we going to buy one

Perhaps when another Chola incident happens or another Kargil war happens. Only then our politicians will wake up. Bloody losers eating public money and doing nothing.

 

[!!craft!!]

It says TOWED 155 mm gun...Aren't we going for M777 for this...?

he has a point ,if we are going for a towed one then how come archer,soltum come into picture??

 

[gowthamraj]

How many days they take to finalise this

 

[KEETARP]

Jha Ji ,
First post also says

The Indian Army today sent out a fresh Request for Information (RFI) to global gun makers for self-propelled 155m/52cal guns (notice the blundering use of "towed" in the document).

Besides 145 ultra-light , there is search going on in darkness with dim-light for 158 Towed + 120 wheeled (Self-propelled) + 180 tracked one .
Guess apart from that pathetic black-board notice , Journos are also confused

 

[Dash]

Jha Ji ,
First post also says

The Indian Army today sent out a fresh Request for Information (RFI) to global gun makers for self-propelled 155m/52cal guns (notice the blundering use of "towed" in the document).

Besides 145 ultra-light , there is search going on in darkness with dim-light for 158 Towed + 120 wheeled (Self-propelled) + 180 tracked one .
Guess apart from that pathetic black-board notice , Journos are also confused

Are you laughing at Army?....

 

[KEETARP]

Dash Ji , you know about that .........................

It was for Journos who get confused by type and caliber .
ULH , Towed are on track - no further delay

Its the wheeled+Tracked that is being asked now ,

 

[!!craft!!]

any news about the bhim spg project??

 

[CONNAN]

Dash Ji , you know about that .........................

It was for Journos who get confused by type and caliber .
ULH , Towed are on track - no further delay

Its the wheeled+Tracked that is being asked now ,

LiveFist - The Best of Indian Defence: FLASH! Indian 155mm/52cal Towed Gun Competition Scrapped A Record Third Time, Re-Tender Signalled

Horror for the Indian Army with a dark dollop of deja vu. It's eight-year effort to buy over a thousand new towed 155mm/52cal howitzers has been scrapped, with fresh indications now that it will be re-tendered a record third time. The Indian Army issued a fresh RFI today inviting information from global vendors on modern 155mm/52cal towed gun systems. Yesterday, the Army had goofed up with an RFI that asked for guns it described as "towed (self-propelled)" -- an embarrassing boo-boo it corrected today by expunging the "self-propelled" part and re-releasing the RFI for just "towed" guns. The re-tender is understood to have been made necessary after the BAE-Bofors FH77-B05-L52 gun wound up (for the record third time!) the only gun in the fray, after its competitor in the latest round of trials, ST Kinetics, entered India's blacklist. More details shortly on the guns that are likely to be part of the fresh competition. All I can do is feel sorry for the Army. More details on the mess shortly.

 

[sancho]

The re-tender is understood to have been made necessary after the BAE-Bofors FH77-B05-L52 gun wound up (for the record third time!) the only gun in the fray, after its competitor in the latest round of trials, ST Kinetics, entered India's blacklist. More details shortly on the guns that are likely to be part of the fresh competition. All I can do is feel sorry for the Army. More details on the mess shortly.

This sadly should rule out the Archer for IA too, because it's basedon the same FH77 howitzer right?

Can someone explain the difference between these towed howitzers and the M777, besides that this is a light weight howitzer?

 

[Kinetic]

Lets see...... if this time our babus destroy the procurement or not!!!

^^Given the state of affairs (as highlighted by the above fcuk up) would you blame them?

like you????? you left India for same reason???? how pathetic. than every Indian brain should leave India as well, specially those like APJ Abdul Kalam?? and let the 'dirty' Indians die themselves???? bravoooo!!!

Indians are the only people on earth those leave motherland for this reason!!!!

but we still have people those working in ISRO, DRDO or DAE and trying their bests. its good for India that people like you left India. Go and have a life in Americaaaa.

 

[KEETARP]

Horror for the Indian Army with a dark dollop of deja vu. It's eight-year effort to buy over a thousand new towed 155mm/52cal howitzers has been scrapped, with fresh indications now that it will be re-tendered a record third time. The Indian Army issued a fresh RFI today inviting information from global vendors on modern 155mm/52cal towed gun systems. Yesterday, the Army had goofed up with an RFI that asked for guns it described as "towed (self-propelled)" -- an embarrassing boo-boo it corrected today by expunging the "self-propelled" part and re-releasing the RFI for just "towed" guns. The re-tender is understood to have been made necessary after the BAE-Bofors FH77-B05-L52 gun wound up (for the record third time!) the only gun in the fray, after its competitor in the latest round of trials, ST Kinetics, entered India's blacklist. More details shortly on the guns that are likely to be part of the fresh competition. All I can do is feel sorry for the Army. More details on the mess shortly.

Oh God ,

ULH , Towed are on track - no further delay

Its the wheeled+Tracked that is being asked now ,

Embarrassing for me and disappointment for Army . I was sure that this time Guns will be finally ordered .

This pretty much rules out Singapore IFH2000 and RHIENMETAL-DENAL 155mm for next RFI .
Soltem , Slovak and Russian along with BAE would most probably fight it out . Another 2 years in drain

This sadly should rule out the Archer for IA too, because it's based on the same FH77 howitzer right?

No , not that way FH77B05L52 bid was cancelled bcoz , others were blacklisted . Rhienmetal bcoz of Denel 50% share and ST for CBI charges . There is nothing wrong with BAE .
We are already on way for ULH under FMS from US , so Archer would be likely invited for bid .

I guess ARCHER + CAESAR + ATMOS will fight it out .

Can someone explain the difference between these towed howitzers and the M777, besides that this is a light weight howitzer?

-One is Barrel length , ULH/LTH are 155mm * 39 caliber gun while Normal Towed/Field gun are 155mm * 52 caliber gun .

-ULH should be designed so that Gun-Train should be capable of negotiating sharp road bends without the need to unhook the gun from the prime mover.

- Rest I think is same as Towed one , both can be airlifted .

 

[CardSharp]

Heh I know it'll be a cold day in hell before India buys from China but... We do have a quality product.

The PLZ45 is the 155mm self-propelled gun-howitzer developed by NORINCO for the export market. The artillery system was jointly developed by the 123 Factory, 127 Factory, 674 Factory and Beijing University of Science and Technology. The PLZ45 beat the US and European competitors in a bid to provide self-propelled artillery systems for the Kuwait Army in 1997. Latest Internet source photos suggest that the artillery may have also entered service with the PLA

ARMAMENT
The PLZ45 is armed with a 155mm, 45-calibre main gun. China obtained the 155mm/45-calibre howitzer technology from Austria in the 1980s, and developed its own 155mm/45-calibre gun in 1986.
The turret has an elevation of +72 to -3 degrees with 360 degree traverse. The main gun has a semi-automatic loader and an electrically controlled and hydraulically operated rammer that enables projectile loading to take place at any angle of elevation with the charge being loaded manually. The gun-howitzer has a crew of five.
There is also a roof-mounted W-85 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun and two sets of four-barrel smoke grenade launchers on the turret's side.
Ammunitions are stored at the rear of the turret. A total of 30 rounds for the gun-howitzer and 480 rounds for the machine gun are carried onboard. 24 howitzer rounds are carried in the loader and 6 rounds on the right side below the loader.
The fire-control system of the PLZ45 includes an automatic laying system, optical sighting system, gun orientation and navigation system, and a GPG receiver.
MUNITIONS
The PLZ45 fires a range of Extended Range Full Bore (ERFB) ammunition, including High Explosive (ERFB/HE), Base Bleed High Explosive (ERFB-BB/HE), ERFB-BB/RA, ERFB/WP, ERFB/Illuminating, ERFB/Smoke, and ERFB-BB/Cargo.
China obtained the Russian Krasnopol laser-guided projectile technology in the 1990s, and has successfully developed its own 152/155mm laser-guided ammunitions. Designed to defeat armoured vehicles and weapon emplacements, the projectile has inertial mid-course guidance and semi-active laser homing. The projectile has a range of 3~20km, and can hit a target by the first shot without registration.


PROPULSION
The gun-howitzer is powered by a 520hp turbocharged diesel, giving a max road speed of 40km/h.
SPECIFICATIONS
Crew: 5
Combat weight: 33t
Dimension: (Length) 10.52m; (width) 3.30m; (height with AAMG) 3.52m; (height without AAMG) 2.60mAnti-NBC: Collective
Fire-Supression System: Yes
Calibre: 155mm
Barrel Length: 45 calibre
Barrel Life: 2,500 firings
Maximum Firing Range: (High Explosive or HE): 24km; (Extended Range Full Bore, or ERFB) 30km; (Extended Range Full Bore, Hollow Base, Base Bleed, or ERFB-HB-BB) 39km
Rate of Fire: intense 4~5 rounds/min; sustained 2 rounds/min
Loading system: semi-automatic
Fire Control: Direct or indirect firing with electro-optical sighting system for day/night operations; onboard computer; GPS
Second Weapon: 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun
Smoke Grenade: Two sets of 4-barrel launchers
Onboard Ammunition Load: (155mm) 30; (12.7mm) 480

 

[Spitfighter]

like you????? you left India for same reason???? how pathetic. than every Indian brain should leave India as well, specially those like APJ Abdul Kalam?? and let the 'dirty' Indians die themselves???? bravoooo!!!

Indians are the only people on earth those leave motherland for this reason!!!!

but we still have people those working in ISRO, DRDO or DAE and trying their bests. its good for India that people like you left India. Go and have a life in Americaaaa.

Kinetic I've had just about enough of your 'holier than thou' bull$hit. I don't know what's gotten into you but lately you've been talking like your head is in your rectum. I was born and raised outside India but I have never considered myself anything but Indian.

The only point I was trying to make was that more and more people will be driven to find a better life elsewhere because of the glaring shortcomings of our bureaucracy. No one would leave their homeland unless they had to. America attracts thousands of the brightest minds from across the planet every year, not just because they have money but because they give people opportunity and equality. They have invested the time and effort to build up the necessary institutions to make this possible.

If you had half a brain you would understand that India needs to improve the situation at home if it intends to attract talent the way America does, not just NRI's but anyone who can make a contribution. Emotional rants will only get you so far (besides making you look like an a$$). When things look as chaotic, disorganized, violent, corrupt and hopeless what makes you think people won't leave for greener pastures? Love for the country is one thing, if you aren't alive toh kahan ki country? Everyone will jump at the opportunity to have a comfortable existence.

I'll be starting my Master's this fall. I stay with 3 guys from India (Tamilian, Bengali and Punjabi), all of them topped in their field of study. If things go as planned, they'll graduate, get jobs and eventually end up settling down in the states. India will keep losing talent just like it lost these three guys (and my parents) unless the situation at home improves drastically. High salaries are just one aspect, MNC's offer those no problem, its the quality of life and the 'meritocracy' that attract people the most.

If you think I'm just some NRI who doesn't know what the hell he's talking about I can give you a few personal accounts of my visits to India. I can tell you about all the people we had to bribe. I can tell you how corrupt the guys at customs are. How much my uncle (ATS) paid for each tile he imported from Italy. I can tell you how many corrupt politicians I have personally met (and Maliaka Arora ). How much my dad had to pay towards my cousins college 'donation'. How many people we had to bribe to get our house repaired and much much more. Then try talking to someone from the states and see if they've ever had similar experiences in the US and you'll see what I mean.