Jabalpur, April 8: The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) Monday handed over six Dhanush artillery guns to the Army in a ceremony held at the Gun Carriage Factory here. The OFB recently received a bulk production clearance from the Army and the Defence Ministry for 114 Dhanush artillery guns. "The OFB has handed over six Dhanush guns to the Army in the first phase. Dhanush is the first indigenously built 155 mm x 45 calibre long-range artillery gun with strike range of 38 kilometres," said OFB chairman Saurabh Kumar, adding that the weapon was a major success story of the 'Make in India' initiative.

Automated technology allows three to six guns to be fired simultaneously at a single target, each gun having a capacity to fire 42 rounds in an hour, he said. "The weight of the gun is under 13 tonnes, making it easy to mobilise in hilly terrain and remote areas. It is a versatile weapon that can operate in all climatic conditions," Kumar informed. "The gun is equipped with inertial navigation-based sighting system, auto-laying facility, on-board ballistic computation and an advanced day-night direct firing system. The self-propulsion unit allows the gun to negotiate and deploy itself in the field," the OFB chairman said. ‘Make in India’ M777 Howitzer Guns To Be Inducted Into Indian Army By End of 2019.

Kumar informed that the OFB was now working on the next two versions of the Dhanush gun including a truck-mounted version. Officials said the Dhanush is a joint effort by the OFB, the Army, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Directorate General Quality Assurance, PSUs Bharat Electronics Limited, SAIL, and private firms.