Kargil, Ladakh: Indian Army’s recent induction of the domestically manufactured Dhanush artillery gun highlights a paradigmatic shift from the Bofors scandal years to a new era of indigenisation, re-writing India’s mastery on the battlefield in high-altitude and border warfare. Beginning with the Bofors FH77B howitzer, purchased in the 1980s, transformed India’s artillery capabilities with its 39-calibre barrel and 27 km reach. Its key contribution during the 1999 Kargil War—providing precision firepower in hostile mountainous terrain—solidified its image as a game-changer. Nonetheless, the spectre of corruption charges over the deal scuttled artillery modernisation for decades, laying bare India’s defence imports vulnerabilities.
Subsequently, the Bofors scandal was a wake-up call, and India decided to give top priority to indigenous development under the Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan (FARP). FARP, introduced during the early 2000s, was designed to replace the legacy platforms with 3,000-4,000 new 155mm/52-calibre guns by 2030. The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), which is now reconstituted as Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Ltd (AWEIL), initiated reverse-engineering the Bofors design to develop a locally produced substitute. Thus, the outcome is the Dhanush, a 155mm/45-calibre howitzer that combines the Bofors’ consistency with state-of-the-art improvements.
Extended Range: With up to 38 km firing precision-guided ammunition, it outguns the Bofors by 27 km.
Tech-savvy design: It has an inertial navigation system, muzzle velocity radar, and computerised laying, which shortens target acquisition time from 30 minutes to less than 2 minutes.
Mobility edge: Rapid repositioning, essential for survival in mountain areas such as Ladakh, is facilitated by a self-propulsion module.
Indigenous leap: 81 per cent local content, with the goal of achieving 90 per cent, reducing import dependence. Produced in Jabalpur’s Gun Carriage Factory, the Dhanush has already armed one regiment (18 guns), with 114 set to be deployed along the China and Pakistan borders. Defence sources affirm its dominance in “shoot-and-scoot” procedures, avoiding counter-battery threats. “Dhanush is not a gun; it is a declaration of India’s defence-industrial maturity,” said a top Army official. The Dhanush is a fulcrum of India’s Rs 2.5 trillion artillery modernisation program that also incorporates tracked K9 Vajra and mounted Drishti systems. It is also part of the military’s transformation towards “networked warfare,” which cooperates with the Army’s Artillery Combat Command and Control System (ACCCS) to share data in real-time.
Though problems such as production setbacks continue, the Dhanush represents India’s commitment to converting previous setbacks into strategic gains. As AWEIL prepares for the 52-calibre Towed Artillery Gun project, the spotlight is on attaining complete indigenisation—a vision reverberating with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s recent statement: “Dhanush is just the beginning. We aim to dominate the defence tech landscape.” From the Bofors’ battlefront heroics to the Dhanush’s indigenous strengths, India’s artillery development is a larger transformation towards independence from dependence.