Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

IN PICS: Special Indian Army ambulance, helicopters, trucks and tanks as soldiers prepare for winter at the India-China border

<b><br /></b><ul><li><strong>The new gun has 81% indigenously manufactured components.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>Each gun costs upwards of ₹140 million and uses rounds which cost around ₹100,000 each.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>The gun is based on Swedish Bofors guns, but has a better range.<br /></strong></li></ul>On Friday, <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> conducted final tests for its first indigenous, long-range- artillery gun, named “<keyword id="6358373" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dhanush">Dhanush</keyword>”, at Pokhran, Rajasthan. The gun’s design is based on the Swedish Bofors gun, and fifty rounds each were fired from six Dhanush guns, reports <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/">India Today</a>.<br /><br /><strong>Dhanush</strong><br /><br />Dhanush is a long-range artillery gun with a strike range of 38 km. Also known as the “<em>Desi Bofors</em>”, the gun fires 155mm x 45mm calibre artillery shells.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />The gun currently comprises of 81% indigenously manufactured components and there are plans to scale up to 90% by 2019.<br /><br /><strong>The tests</strong><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Dhanush also <a href="http://www.janes.com/article/79422/defexpo-2018-ofb-showcases-155-mm-52-calibre-mounted-gun-system">has</a> 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.<br /><br /><strong>Future</strong><br /><br />In March 2013, the defence ministry had <a href="https://swarajyamag.com/politics/finally-army-to-get-its-dhanush/">placed</a> an order worth over ₹12.6 billion for the acquisition of 114 Dhanush guns, which were subject to its clearing the trials. <br /><br />Now, according to a <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/dhanush-india-s-first-indigenous-artillery-gun-clears-final-test-ready-for-induction-into-army-1256122-2018-06-09">report</a>,12 guns will be delivered to the <keyword id="6354416" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Army">Indian Army</keyword> in the current fiscal.<br />

India has successfully test fired its first indigenously made long-ranged artillery gun

<br /> The <keyword id="6354416" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Indian-Army">Indian Army</keyword> would place an order worth Rs 1, 200 crore to get <keyword id="6358373" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="dhanush">Dhanush</keyword> artillery guns after their confirmatory trials are over early next year, reported PTI. <br /><br />

	According to defence sources, if the confirmatory test of the indigenously-developed guns comes out as positive, it will pave the way for Bulk Production Clearance (BPC).
<br /><br /> Under the first phase, the army will place an order for 114 such guns with the <keyword id="498182" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ordnance-Factories-Board">Ordnance Factories Board</keyword>. <br /><br />

	"The confirmatory trials are going on after and if they prove to be successful, the guns will go in for bulk production for the army," sources told PTI. 
<br /><br />

	The Gun Carriage Factory, Jabalpur, plans to supply 6 guns within 6 months, another 12 within the next one year before ramping up the production.
<br /><br /> It is important to know that Dhanush would be the first artillery gun to be acquired by the Indian Army since the purchase of Bofors guns from <keyword id="23050" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sweden">Sweden</keyword> in 1987. <br /><br />

	It is a modified version of the Bofors and already underwent winter trials in 2013 and summer trials in 2014. 
<br /><br /> Earlier this year, Defence Minister <keyword id="6363133" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Manohar-Parrikar">Manohar Parrikar</keyword> said the test for the 155/45mm caliber Dhanush gun was successful. <br /><br />

	According to sources, minor changes were done following the trials, following which the confirmation trials have begun.
<br /><br />

	OFB is a conglomerate of 39 ordnance factories with another two new projects being set up at Nalanda in Bihar and Korwa in Uttar Pradesh. <br />
	<br /> (Image: <keyword id="6369097" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ministry-of-Defence">Ministry of Defence</keyword>)

Indian Army to order Dhanush artillery guns after trials

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The US Navy's <keyword id="413144" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Aircraft-carriers">aircraft carriers</keyword> are some of the most imposing vessels ever put to sea.</li><li>But the carriers the Navy has now are the just latest on a long line ships that dominated during World War II and continue to project US might around the world.</li></ul><p>Few weapons have made an impact on warfare like the <keyword id="42406" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="aircraft-carrier">aircraft carrier</keyword>. Just a few decades after the first purpose-built carrier was commissioned by the Japanese in 1922, they became essential instruments of naval warfare.</p><p>US carriers played pivotal roles in World War II naval battles and in nearly every war or conflict the US has been involved in since.</p><p>"When word of a crisis breaks out in Washington, it's no accident that the first question that comes to everyone's lips is: 'Where's the nearest carrier?'" President Bill Clinton <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3070317/ns/world_news/t/big-deck-super-carriers-rule-seas/" target="_top">s</a><a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3070317/ns/world_news/t/big-deck-super-carriers-rule-seas/" target="_top">aid</a> on the deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt in 1993.</p><p>With decades of hard experience, the US Navy has mastered carrier warfare, fielding some of the most impressive vessels in history.</p><h2>Starting small</h2><div type="image" title="Navy aircraft carrier USS Lexington" height="1863" width="2500" msid="78504733" hostid="261"></div><p>The first operational class of carrier was the Lexington class.</p><p>Both ships of the class, <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/lexington-cv-2-iv.html" target="_top">Lexington</a> and <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/saratoga-v.html" target="_top">Saratoga</a>, were intended to be battlecruisers but were converted after the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, which limited the number of battleships and cruisers the US Navy could have. They were 880 feet long, had a crew of over 2,000, and could carry up to 90 aircraft.</p><p>They were also originally fitted with eight 8-inch guns in four turrets in front of and behind the carrier island, because early carrier doctrine dictated that aircraft alone were insufficient armament.</p><div type="image" title="Navy aircraft carrier USS Saratoga" height="1853" width="2500" msid="78504734" hostid="261"></div><p>The two ships were commissioned in 1927. They were two of three carriers in the Pacific Fleet when Pearl Harbor was attacked but, luckily, were at sea and avoided being destroyed.</p><p>Both saw action in the Pacific. Aircraft from Lexington helped sink the Japanese carrier Shōhō and prevent a Japanese invasion of Port Moresby at <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/battle-of-the-coral-sea-world-war-ii-anniversary-2018-5" target="_top">the Battle of the Coral Sea</a>, but it was scuttled after sustaining too much damage.</p><p>Saratoga saw action at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, where its aircraft sank the carrier Ryūjō. It served in four campaigns and was damaged at the Battle of Iwo Jima. After the war it was sunk as a target ship during the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in 1949.</p><h2>The first true carriers</h2><div type="image" title="Navy aircraft carrier USS Yorktown" height="1990" width="2500" msid="78504736" hostid="261"></div><p>The US Navy's first purpose-built carriers were the Yorktown class. It had three ships: <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/y/yorktown-iii.html" target="_top">Yorktown</a>, <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/ships/modern-ships/big-e.html#:~:text=Of%20the%20more%20than%20twenty,the%20heart%20of%20the%20enemy" target="_top">Enterprise</a>, and <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/h/hornet-vii.html" target="_top">Hornet</a>. They were over 800 feet long, had a crew of 2,900, and could carry 80 to 90 aircraft.</p><p>The armament included eight 5-inch guns, 16 1.1-inch anti-aircraft guns in four quad mounts, and up to 24 .50-caliber machine guns. The 1.1-inch guns and .50-caliber machine guns on Enterprise were later replaced with 40 40-mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns and 50 20-mm Oerlikon cannons.</p><p>The Yorktown class is famous for bearing the brunt of US carrier action during the early months of World War II — part of Enterprise's air group was present at Pearl Harbor during the attack and engaged Japanese aircraft, and it was the ship that carried <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-last-doolittle-raider-101-recalls-attack-75-years-later-2017-4" target="_top">the Doolittle Raid</a> bombers to Japan.</p><p>Two Yorktown-class ships were sunk by enemy action: Yorktown at <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/details-about-battle-of-midway-between-us-and-japan-in-world-war-ii-2018-6" target="_top">the Battle of Midway</a> and Hornet at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.</p><p>Enterprise fought in almost every major action of the Pacific and became the most decorated US ship of World War II. Its planes and guns shot down 911 enemy planes, sunk 71 ships, and damaged 192 more.</p><h2>The backbone of the US Navy</h2><div type="image" title="Navy Essex class aircraft carrier" height="1393" width="2500" msid="78504737" hostid="261"></div><p>After the Washington Naval Treaty expired in 1936, the US Navy set about building more modern carriers. The result was the Essex class, the lead ship of which entered service in 1942.</p><p>Due to the demands of World War II, "short-hull" and "long-hull" versions of Essex-class carriers were built, and many were modified and refitted throughout the war.</p><p>They were between 872 feet and 888 feet long, had crews of over 3,000, and could carry 90 to 100 aircraft. They were outfitted with four twin and four single 5-inch gun turrets, 60 20-mm canons, and sometimes as many as 68 40-mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns.</p><div type="image" title="Navy aircraft carrier USS Franklin" height="1862" width="2500" msid="78504738" hostid="261"></div><p>Essex-class carriers became the backbone of the US Navy's strength during the war. Twenty-four were completed in total — more than any other capital ship in the 20th century — and they saw action in almost all major naval battles of the Pacific.</p><p>Although none were lost, some took massive damage. USS Bunker Hill and USS Franklin, for instance, <a href="https://www.warhistoryonline.com/news/essex-class-aircraft-carriers.html" target="_top">suffered</a> kamikaze and air attacks that killed 390 and 800 crewmen, respectively.</p><p>The carriers were used long after World War II and were constantly upgraded and modified. Some were given angled flight decks and the ability to carry jets. A few carriers even served in Vietnam. The last Essex-class carrier, used as a training ship, was decommissioned in 1991.</p><h2>Enter the super carriers</h2><div type="image" title="Navy aircraft carrier Forrestal" height="1643" width="2500" msid="78504739" hostid="261"></div><p>The dawn of the jet age meant a new type of carrier was needed — one that could carry large numbers of jets and operate for extended periods in support of operations inland. The <a href="https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/us-navys-midway-class-aircraft-carriers-are-legend-reason-165491" target="_top">Midway-class</a> achieved this in some respects but still had to be upgraded to meet demand.</p><p>The answer was a new generation of vessels known as "supercarriers," an unofficial designation often given to carriers of this era and those that followed.</p><p>Four types of supercarriers have seen action with the US Navy: the <a href="https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/forrestal-step-aboard-americas-first-super-aircraft-carrier-59402" target="_top">Forrestal class</a>, <a href="http://www.military-today.com/navy/kitty_hawk_class.htm" target="_top">Kitty Hawk class</a>, <a href="https://www.naval-technology.com/projects/uss-enterprise/" target="_top">the E</a><a href="https://www.naval-technology.com/projects/uss-enterprise/" target="_top">nterpris</a><a href="https://www.naval-technology.com/projects/uss-enterprise/" target="_top">e class</a>, and the <a href="https://www.naval-technology.com/projects/nimitz/" target="_top">Nimitz class</a>. All were over 1,000 feet long and crew sizes from 4,300 to over 5,000.</p><p>All were built with angled decks and four steam-powered catapults, which allowed them to launch jets with heavier payloads as well as larger reconnaissance and transport planes. Instead of naval and anti-aircraft guns, they were armed with anti-air missiles and Phalanx Close-in Weapons Systems, or CIWS, capable of firing 4,500 20-mm rounds a minute.</p><p>They could hold anywhere from 60 to 90 aircraft including helicopters, and, more recently, drones.</p><div type="image" title="USS Nimitz" height="1164" width="1500" msid="78504741" hostid="261"></div><p>In 1961, the USS Enterprise, the only ship of its class to be built, entered service with the Navy. Powered by nuclear reactors, Enterprise revolutionized carrier design.</p><p>As a result of its success, the following Nimitz-class carriers are all nuclear-powered, giving them virtually unlimited range, though the reactors need to be refueled at some point during the carrier's service life.</p><p>Supercarriers quickly made their mark on history. Forrestal and Kitty Hawk carriers served in Vietnam, as did Enterprise. The Nimitz class first saw action in the 1981 Gulf of Sidra incident off Libya and, along with other supercarriers, was used extensively in the Gulf War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.</p><p>Supercarriers were also involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, and the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis. More recently, Nimitz-class carriers were involved in airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.</p><div type="image" title="USS Gerald R. Ford" height="784" width="1240" msid="78504742" hostid="261"></div><p>Today, the only carriers in service with the US Navy are the 10 Nimitz-class carriers and one from the new <a href="https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Fact-Files/Display-FactFiles/Article/2169795/aircraft-carriers-cvn/" target="_top">Gerald R. Ford-class</a>, which is meant to replace the Nimitz class in the coming decades.</p><p>Ford-class carriers are about 1,100 feet long, have a crew of 4,500, and can carry 75 aircraft, including the Navy's new F-35C stealth fighter.</p><p>The ships feature <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-gerald-r-ford-aircraft-carrier-doesnt-have-urinals-2017-7" target="_top">a suite of</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-gerald-r-ford-aircraft-carrier-doesnt-have-urinals-2017-7" target="_top"> new technology and systems</a>, including the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, which uses electromagnetic power instead of steam.</p><p>The first-in-class USS Gerald R. Ford has struggled to get underway, but designers and crew continue <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-still-diagnosing-key-tech-on-carrier-ford-failure-cause-2020-6" target="_top">to work through the problems</a>, which have helped <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-problems-with-carrier-ford-helped-navy-build-carrier-kennedy-2019-11" target="_top">inform the design and construction of the next carriers</a> in the class.</p>

How Navy aircraft carriers have projected US military might all over the world for 86 years

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In the early days of <keyword id="6357515" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="World-War-II">World War II</keyword>, the Axis and the Allies fought each other across the vast and inhospitable North African desert.</li><li>The terrain and conditions were challenges to any kind of military operation, but one desert explorer embraced them, building a special unit to track and attack the Germans in the desert expanse.</li></ul><p><em>"Only men who do not mind a hard life, with scanty food, little water and lots of discomfort, men who possess stamina and initiative, need apply."</em></p><p>For many Commonwealth soldiers serving in <keyword id="134809" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="North-Africa">North Africa</keyword> during the early years of World War II, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sting-Scorpion-Inside-Story-Desert/dp/0750937041" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this recruitment notice</a> was their introduction to the elite <keyword id="9842676" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="long-range-desert-group">Long Range Desert Group</keyword> (LRDG).</p><p>A unit that preceded and operated alongside the famous Special Air Service (SAS), the LRDG specialized in long-range reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, direct action, and infiltration and exfiltration of other special-operations units.</p><h2>A desert explorer</h2><div type="image" title="Long Range Desert Group WWII" height="1875" width="2500" msid="77808696" hostid="261"></div><p>The LRDG was established in June 1940 and tasked with reconnoitering the North African desert and gathering intelligence on the Axis forces. The unit wouldn't have existed if it weren't for Maj. Ralph Bagnold, an officer with Royal Engineers who was also a geologist and desert explorer.</p><p>During the interwar period, Bagnold often took time off to explore the North African deserts, during which he developed the Bagnold Sun Compass, a navigational innovation that would be crucial to the LRDG once the war started.</p><p>Initially, Gen. Archibald Wavell, commander of British forces in the Middle East, questioned the usefulness of such a unit. He asked Bagnold what they would do if they didn't find any enemy activity in the vast desert.</p><p>With his characteristic swashbuckling spirit, the soldier-explorer <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1789543" target="_blank" rel="noopener">answered</a>, "We'll carry out some piracy on the high seas against enemy convoys."</p><h2>Own their own in unforgiving conditions</h2><div type="image" title="Long Range Desert Group WWII" height="600" width="800" msid="77808698" hostid="261"></div><p>When it came to selecting soldiers for his new outfit, Bagnold sought men with endurance, initiative, self-discipline, resourcefulness, determination, and physical and mental stamina. He had determined that those traits were necessary to be successful in the harsh and unforgiving desert environment.</p><p>Moreover, and going against tradition, he recruited from all Commonwealth forces — Australians, British, Indians, New Zealanders, Rhodesians, and South Africans.</p><p>The unit consisted of 14 patrols. Each patrol had between 15 and 20 men and was commanded by an officer. A few non-commissioned officers (NCOs) in each patrol provided the technical expertise and experience that was crucial to their success. Privates made up the rest of the patrol.</p><p>Each trooper had a specialty, such as navigator, signalman, or combat medic.</p><div type="image" title="Long Range Desert Group WWII" height="1874" width="2500" msid="77808706" hostid="261"></div><p>The harsh desert conditions and the job's physical demands meant LRDG troopers had to consume about 5,000 calories a day. An intelligence officer assigned to the unit even developed a special ration scale for patrols. It proved to be so effective that the SAS commandos soon adopted it.</p><p>Each patrol operated five or six Chevrolet 30 cwt wide-body unarmored trucks and a US-made Willy Jeep for the patrol commander.</p><p>The trucks, which were the lifelines of the patrols, had been specially outfitted for desert warfare: They sported special 10-inch sand tires that were partially inflated so the vehicles wouldn't get bogged down in treacherous sand dunes. Any unnecessary part, such as windshields, doors, and hoods, were removed to save weight. They could carry up to 4,000 pounds of gear, ammunition, fuel, and men, and had an approximate effective range of 1,100 miles. A fully kitted patrol could operate independently and without resupply for about three weeks.</p><p>When it came to weapons, an LRDG patrol was stacked. A patrol would carry anything from Browning .30-caliber light machine guns and Boys anti-tank rifles to .50-caliber heavy machine guns and 20 mm Bofors cannons. It was the combination of stealth, endurance, and firepower that made LRDG patrols so effective.</p><h2>'The finest of all units serving in the desert'</h2><div type="image" title="Long Range Desert Group" height="600" width="800" msid="77808707" hostid="261"></div><p>As far as missions, LRDG patrols scouted the Axis coastal highways and provided critical intelligence to Allied commanders. Additionally, they conducted topographical reconnaissance to discover new paths that Allied armored divisions could use to flank Axis forces.</p><p>In 1943, after the Battle of El Alamein and the retreat of Axis forces to Tunisia, an LRDG patrol found a path that allowed the Allies to circumvent the heavily defended Mareth Line, saving countless of lives and precious time.</p><p>Yet the LRDG is perhaps better known for its cooperation with the SAS. LRDG patrols provided means of infiltration and exfiltration to the newly established SAS as it wreaked havoc on the Axis' rear echelons.</p><div type="image" title="Long Range Desert Group North Africa WWII" height="600" width="800" msid="77808708" hostid="261"></div><p>After the new commando unit started using its own vehicles, the LRDG provided in desert navigation and navigators, contributing to the success and survival of the SAS.</p><p>Lt. Col. David Sterling, the founder of the SAS, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lrdg-Rhodesia-Rhodesians-Range-Desert/dp/0620293462" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> after the war that "in my view the LRDG was the finest of all units serving in the desert ... [the unit] had given us tremendous assistance in training a cadre of navigators and in many other ways"</p><p>By the end of the war, the LRDG had distinguished itself in three theaters: in North Africa from 1940 to 1943, in Italy from 1943 to 1945, and in the Balkans from 1943 to 1945. Most importantly, the LRDG showcased a strategic utility disproportionate to its size — especially during the fight against the Africa Corps in North Africa.</p><p><em>Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (National Service with the 575th Marine Battalion &amp; Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate.</em></p>

You Searched For "Bofors gun" and got 5 results

IN PICS: Special Indian Army ambulance, helicopters, trucks and tanks as soldiers prepare for winter at the India-China border

Prabhjote Gill

India has successfully test fired its first indigenously made long-ranged artillery gun

BI India Bureau

Indian Army to order Dhanush artillery guns after trials

BI India Bureau

How Navy aircraft carriers have projected US military might all over the world for 86 years

Benjamin Brimelow

Meet the small group of elite British commandos who went deep behind enemy lines early in World War II

Stavros Atlamazoglou

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides