Indigenous artillery gun passes validation trials

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The indigenous Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) jointly with the private industry successfully completing the validation trials towards meeting the specifications of the Army. 

The week-long Preliminary Service Quality Requirements (PSQR) validation retrials were conducted at the Pokhran field firing ranges.

The ATAGS is a 155mm, 52- calibre heavy artillery gun jointly developed by Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), the Pune-based laboratory of DRDO, in partnership with Bharat Forge and Tata Group. 

In August 2018, the Defence Acquisition Council had accorded approval for the purchase of 150 of these guns at an approximate cost of ₹3,365 crore which would be split between the two companies. The Army has a requirement of 1,580 artillery guns in this category. The ATAGS has demonstrated a range of over 45 km, and an official termed it as the “most consistent and accurate gun in the world”.