WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI: India has now moved closer to buying 145 ultra-light howitzers, which can be swiftly deployed in forward and inaccessible areas by helicopters and aircraft, from the US in a direct government-to-government deal worth $647 million.
The American Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has now notified the US Congress of the Obama administration's intention to sell 145 M777 howitzers to India, surprisingly asserting that the sale will boost `interoperability' between Indian and American soldiers and marines.
The mandatory notification follows a request from India for the light-weight towed howitzers, with laser inertial artillery pointing systems and other equipment, which could well be the first 155mm artillery gun purchase by New Delhi after the star-crossed Swedish Bofors deal going back to the 1980s.
Sources say the procurement of the air-mobile howitzers is in tune with the Indian Army's `cold start' war doctrine, which revolves around the strategy to mobilise fast and strike hard as well as strengthen `threatened sectors' in a hurry.
The all-weather howitzers, with a 25-30 km range, will also come in handy for supporting Para-Special Force battalions while they operate behind enemy lines and in `out-of-area contingencies'.
Moreover, the two new mountain divisions being raised primarily for the eastern front with China, with around 15,000 soldiers each, are also to be equipped with these ultra-light howitzers manufactured by BAE Systems.
The DSCA, on its part, said, "India intends to use the howitzers to modernise its armed forces and enhance its ability to operate in hazardous conditions.''
The proposed sale, without altering the basic military balance in the region, will `contribute' to US foreign policy and national security "by helping to strengthen the US-India strategic relationship''.
"It will also improve the security of an important partner which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in South Asia,'' added DSCA.
The potential M777 purchase, seen in some quarters as a political decision to favour the US once again, has not been without the usual controversy that has come to dog almost every major defence acquisition in India.
Indian Army's long-delayed Rs 20,000 crore artillery modernisation programme is yet to kick-off, with the acquisition of different types of 155mm guns still stuck in different stages due to scandals.
The only ultra-light howitzer to make it to the trial stage in India, the Pegasus gun of Singapore Technology Kinetics (STK), has been virtually knocked out of the race.
The Pegasus trials, which were scheduled to begin at Gwalior from June 22, were put on hold after STK's name surfaced in connection with the corruption scandal against former Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) chairman Sudipto Ghosh.
While the CBI investigation into the case is in progress, the government has fast-tracked the `parallel track' of acquiring the M777 from the US under its foreign military sale (FMS) programme.
The M777 howitzer was originally developed by the British Vickers group, but is now produced by BAE Land Systems in US. It has largely replaced the M198 howitzer 155mm towed howitzers in the US Marine Corps and Army, and has seen action both in Afghanistan and Iraq.
US, of course, is now increasingly cornering a major chunk of the lucrative Indian arms market, having already bagged the $2.1 billion contract for eight Boeing P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft and the $962 million deal for six C-130J Super Hercules planes.
The stage is now also set for what will be the largest-ever Indo-US defence, with New Delhi formally approaching Washington for another FMS deal to acquire 10 C-17 Globemaster-III giant strategic airlift aircraft, each of which comes for over a whopping $220 million, as reported by TOI earlier.
