US: Watervliet Arsenal to manufacture parts for M777 howitzers for India.

The Watervliet Arsenal has started work on a $50 million foreign military sales contract to manufacture 145 M777A2 howitzers (155mm) barrels and parts for the Indian army

Marines with Battery K, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, fire an M777A2 Howitzer in the Quackenbush Training Area aboard the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., Dec. 3, 2016, during the regiment's "Top Gun" competition. (Photo Credit: U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Levi Schultz)

When this contract was announced in January 2017, it was the largest sales contract the Arsenal had signed in at least 30 years, Military Forecast reports. Under this contract, the Arsenal will manufacture M777 155mm barrels and associated parts that will become an integral part of the M777A2 lightweight howitzer that BAE Systems will provide to India as part of a foreign military sales contract that it (BAE) had received from the U.S. Department of Defense.

The first cannon systems will be shipped out later this year. The Arsenal will begin shipping howitzer components this fiscal year and cannon barrels by fiscal year 2019. The fiscal year begins on October 1. This contract will keep many of the Arsenal machinists and machine tool operators fully employed for the next two years. It will have the company exercise all critical manufacturing skills that will then benefit to U.S. production requirements.

The Watervliet Arsenal is an Army-owned-and-operated manufacturing facility located in Watervliet, New York. The Arsenal is the oldest, continuously active arsenal in the United States, having begun operations during the War of 1812. The Arsenal is a subordinate command to the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command and the U.S. Army Materiel Command.

The M777 howitzer efficiency has been proven in battle, particularly in Afghanistan where it has been in service since 2006. Over 40,000 rounds fired have proven its simple, dependable operation, even in harsh desert climates. The maximum range unassisted is 24.7 km and maximum assisted range is 30+ km.