Indian Army may turn to 1950s-vintage artillery

The Indian Army's artillery directorate is considering the acquisition of additional Soviet-designed 130 mm M-46 field guns, developed in the 1950s, from surplus stocks within the former Soviet republics to augment its severely depleted firepower.

Official sources said delays and constant postponement in acquiring new howitzers to replace and supplement the 410 Bofors 155 mm/39 cal guns procured in the late 1980s had promoted this possibility in a bid to plug the army's artillery shortfall.

India was the largest export customer for M-46 artillery pieces, with an estimated 800 purchased from the late 1960s onwards and employed during the 1971 war with Pakistan.

Thereafter, under the Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan finalised in the late 1980s, the army aimed by 2020-25 to acquire a mix of around 3,200 to 3,600 155 mm/52 cal and 155 mm/39 cal towed, wheeled, tracked and light howitzers for 180 of around 220 artillery regiments. The new guns were intended to replace the six different calibres the artillery currently deploys.