In a step towards developing the indigenous private sector defence industry, the Tata group has come up with a new artillery gun and has requested the Army to provide its ranges and ammunition for trying out the howitzer. This new artillery system was developed by its defence subsidiary Tata Power Strategic Electronics Division (SED) this last year.

The prototype of the howitzer has been produced by the company so far and "around 50-55% of its content is indigenous. It was jointly developed by TATA Power SED and South Africa’s DENEL Land Systems.

DENEL Land Systems has supplied the monoblock gun barrel fitted with a double-baffle muzzle brake, gun cradle with an integrated buffer system, swing-and-slide breech mechanism, electrically-activated firing mechanism, autoloader/rammer, ballistics charts, muzzle velocity radar, an automatic laying and land navigation system using a RLG-INS, a panoramic optical-mechanical sight mounted directly to the trunnion, incorporating a compensation system for trunnion, which forms a backup for indirect fire, and a telescopic sight for direct fire that is mounted to the compensation system.

TATA Power SED, on the other hand, developed the digital ballistics computer, telecommunications system, the hydraulic system that supplies hydraulic power for deployment of the outriggers and the top-carriage hydraulics, all on-board electrical systems, the gun management computer, and the ‘Rajak’ driver’s vision enhancement system. The customized 8 x 8 truck comes from TATA Motors.