Testing for an indigenous artillery piece is successful.

In collaboration with Bharat Forge and the TATA Group, the DRDO’s Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), located in Pune, developed the Advanced Towed Artillery Cannon System (ATAGS), a 155mm, 52-calibre heavy artillery gun.

This week, the validation trials for the indigenous Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), which was created by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) in collaboration with the private sector, were successfully completed. The system now successfully satisfies the requirements of the Army.

The Pokhran field firing ranges hosted the week-long Preliminary Service Quality Requirements (PSQR) validation retrials from April 26 to May 2.

“Successful two-second line firing demonstrated the reliability of the cannons. The trials were effective in achieving accuracy and consistency, and burst and intense timed series were also successfully tested, according to a DRDO official.

The Director General Quality Assurance (DGQA) and Electromagnetic Interference/ Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMI/ EMC) trials that are slated for May come next. After then, the Request for Proposal (RFP) will be published. It should arrive by June.

Stringent Specifications

The officials stated that there are very strict requirements for precision consistency and that the performance during trials was well within those requirements. 
“Both firms’ guns worked admirably. 
The ATAGS will be put into operation as a result of the successful re-validation testing, the official said.

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.

The PSQR firing trials for the 155/52 mm ATAGS, which were jointly developed by DRDO (ARDE) and TASL, were successful today. An excellent example of public-private cooperation that resulted in an Indian weapon system of the highest calibre. Such a military system is extremely crucial for India, according to a Monday tweet from Tata Advanced Systems Limited.

The Defence Acquisition Council approved the procurement of 150 of these weapons in August 2018 for a total estimated cost of 3,365 crore, which would be shared between the two businesses. The lowest bidder (L1) and second-lowest bidder (L2) will share the contract 60:40. In this category, the Army needs 1,580 artillery pieces.

As reported earlier, in the past, the Army had flagged the issue of overweight compared with its requirements which officials said has been addressed. According to earlier statements made by officials, the Army desired the weight to be close to 18 tonnes so that it could be transported via mountains, and it is currently mostly in that range.

An official described the ATAGS as the “most consistent and accurate gun in the world” after it displayed a range of more than 45 kilometres. 

According to officials, it features the shortest minimum range at high angles, quick movement in desert and mountainous terrain, wireless connection, and the capacity to fire in autonomous mode. 
According to the official, it has been created to discharge all in service ammunition using a completely automatic ammunition handling system with all electronic drives.