Tata, L&T, Punj Lloyd Compete For M777 Gun Assembly In India

[VeeraBahadur]

NEW DELHI, JULY 14, 2015: Tata, L&T and Punj Lloyd are competing to set up an assembly line for the M777 ultra light howitzer (ULH) in India in partnership with BAE Systems. The winner is expected to be decided by the end of July 2015. Notably, BAE Systems' former partner, Mahindra Defense Land Systems, is also part of the competition.

BAE Systems has offered to set up the assembly, integration and testing (AIT) facility for the M777 in India on the lines of its facility in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in the U.S., as part of its new offsets plan, which was approved by the Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar on May 13, 2015.

BAE Systems will not invest equity in the AIT facility. "We are searching for one Indian partner to set up an assembly, integration and testing facility in India. We have issued a tender for this partnership and we have gone through a process of assessing the companies interested in tying up for this facility. We will decide on the partner by the end of this month," BAE Systems India Managing Director John Brosnan told Arming India in New Delhi on July 1, 2015.

Forty other Indian partners have been identified by BAE Systems to discharge offsets obligations. MoUs have been signed with these partners.

The assembly line in India could well be used for exports after the fulfillment of the Indian order, as first reported by Arming India in January 2015.

The Indian AIT will be at the heart of the global supply chain for the M777. "India will now become part of the M777 global supply chain involving facilities in the U.S., Europe and South Africa. We want to export the gun out of India at some stage in the future," confirmed Brosnan.

The stalemated process to acquire 145 M777 guns for the Indian Army received new momentum after the approval of a new plan by BAE Systems to discharge 30 per cent offsets. This put the deal back on the table. The earlier offsets plan was declared non-compliant by the Ministry of Defense (MoD).

In just over a month after the DAC go-ahead, the MoD has re-started the procurement process. It has written to the U.S. Administration, asking it to re-state availability and price in a renewed Letter of Acceptance (LOA), again reported first by Arming India.

The restated offer will put the price in the $750 million to $885 million band, as has been indicated in the U.S. Congressional approval, which permits the sale of this gun to India till 2018.

 

[VeeraBahadur]

Arming India

 

[The Great One]

Per Kunal Biswas, we need 145x3 M777. I personally think we need this too to replace LFG's

Army Guide - LEO 105, Towed gun

According to Denel Land Systems, there is no other artillery system in the world with the capabilities of the 105 mm Light Experimental Weapon which includes a maximum range of 30,000 m.

This is similar to that of 155 mm/39 calibre artillery systems with the new 105 mm high-explosive artillery projectile, having a lethal area of 1,900 m2 against targets. This is claimed to be better than a first-generation 155 mm artillery projectile.

http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2006garm/tuesday/peck.pdf
http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.p...s-leo-leaps-forward-&catid=50:Land&Itemid=105

RDM also developed the Igala range of munitions for the LEO/LSPH. For this month's tests, the M0125A2 IHE PFF (Insensitive High Explosive Pre-Formed Fragmentation) projectile and the XM2019A2 Practice round were fired in both the BT (boat-tail) as well as the BB (base-bleed) configurations. With the BT configuration, a maximum range of 24 km was achieved, while BB has a maximum proven range of 30km at sea level. “At the Alkantpan Test Range (which is 1000m above sea level), ranges of about 25km and 33km respectively, were achieved.”

The M0125A2 IHE PFF projectile has a lethal area of 1600m2, “which is 66% larger than the typical lethal area of the 155mm M107 projectile”. The safety distance for the XM0125A2 IHE PFF projectile is typically 50% smaller than that of the M107, which makes the 105mm PFF projectile more suitable for close fire-support. The M0125A2 IHE PFF projectile achieved US Army Safety certification in September 2008 as part of the Foreign Comparative Test Programme sponsored by the US Department of Defence. “Once the M0125A2 was Safety Certified, it was given the US designation M1130 for the fixed base bleed projectile, and M1131 for the fixed boat tail projectile. Both the M1130 and M1131 projectiles are in the final stages of Type Classification, a process that has taken almost a decade.”