- The new gun has 81% indigenously manufactured components.
- Each gun costs upwards of ₹140 million and uses rounds which cost around ₹100,000 each.
- The gun is based on Swedish Bofors guns, but has a better range.
Dhanush
Dhanush is a long-range artillery gun with a strike range of 38 km. Also known as the “Desi Bofors”, the gun fires 155mm x 45mm calibre artillery shells.
It was developed in the Gun Carriage Factory (GCF) in Jabalpur, and cost up of ₹140 million each, while each round fired cost around ₹100,000.
The project, which was sanctioned in 2011, has now cleared its final tests. The first prototype was built by 2014 and since then 11 other prototypes had been made and 4,200 rounds were test fired.
The gun currently comprises of 81% indigenously manufactured components and there are plans to scale up to 90% by 2019.
The tests
As of June 2018, the gun has been rigorously tested under hot and humid conditions in Balasore, Odisha, Babina (Jhansi) and Pokhran (Rajasthan), and under severe cold conditions of Sikkim and Leh.
It has a hitting range that’s 11 km more than the imported Bofors guns and is apparently amongst the finest in terms of accuracy. It also includes features like electronic gun-laying and sighting systems.
Dhanush also has a vehicle-mounted variant called Mounted Gun System, which was showcased by India’s Ordnance Factories Board (OFB) at Defexpo 2018. It is mounted on an 8x8 truck manufactured by BEML and has a speed of 30 km/h cross country and 80 km/h on road.
Future
In March 2013, the defence ministry had placed an order worth over ₹12.6 billion for the acquisition of 114 Dhanush guns, which were subject to its clearing the trials.
Now, according to a report,12 guns will be delivered to the