Ordnance Factory Board of India to showcase prototype 6 of Dhanush 155mm 45 calibre howitzer 1202145.

Manufactured by the Ordnance Factory Board, based on technology supplied by Bofors, Dhanush howitzers (155 mm/45 calibre) has a maximum range of 38 km.

Later this month, the Indian-made towed howitzer would be send to Sikkim firing range for another round of trial tests to check its accuracy and range. “We already have a written request from the Army to make 128 of these guns for which we began procuring the material,” an OFB official told Deccan Herald at Defexpo 2014.

The Indian Army has not purchased any artillery gun since the Bofors came in the 1980s. The Swedish howitzers proved its mettle during the Kargil war, but, since then a large of number of artillery guns had to be cannibalized to keep the remaining functional. As repeated efforts to buy new heavy artillery failed in the last decade, the Defence Ministry finally dusted out the old licensing agreement and asked the OFB to manufacture these guns. The Gun Carriage Factory (GCF) in Jabalpur is the integrator, though other units made crucial parts.