Indian 1st Dhanush 155mm guns to enter service on March 26.

Dhanush, the first indigenous gun/howitzer developed to upgrade the Indian artillery, will be inducted into the Indian Army on March 26. The first batch of six guns will be deployed along the China and Pakistan frontiers, DNA India reports. By the end of 2019, a complete regiment (18 guns) will be in action along the borders shared with China and Pakistan.

The Dhanush 155mm gun displayed at DefExpo India 2018, near Chennai (Picture source: Army Recognition)

The production of 118 Dhanush guns by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) is planned. They are manufactured by the Jabalpur-based Gun Carriage Factory (GCF). GCF received the Dhanush project in October 2011 and the first prototype was completed in 2014. 11 more prototypes were made, which fired 4,200 rounds. The guns passed tests in extreme cold in Sikkim and Leh, as well as in hot and humid weather conditions in Balasore, Odisha, and Babina in Jhansi. It also worked perfectly in the deserts of Pokhran, in Rajasthan. Dhanush has a strike range of 38 kilometres and 81% of its components are indigenously sourced; this will go up to 90% by the end of 2019.

Apart from the Jabalpur-based Gun Carriage Factory (GCF), there is active cooperation from other ordinance factories and PSUs such as SAIL, BEL, and many private sector companies, DNA India reports.