India plans to add more long-range self-propelled artillery to its arsenal after officials conducted a study showing them to be effective in shaping Russia’s war in Ukraine.
India wants to acquire another 400 of these guns, which would make the equipment about one-sixth of all artillery pieces in the Indian arsenal, according to officials aware of the details who asked not to be named due to sensitivity the matter.
The war in Ukraine has made India the latest country to reevaluate its arsenal, its war readiness and its battlefield priorities. Officials cited an Indian military study that found long-range mobility artillery is effective in influencing the outcome of battles. Enemy counterattacks are more likely to destroy weapons in static positions, the officials said, citing the study.
A majority of India’s 100 self-propelled guns are deployed along a 3,488-kilometer-long disputed border with China. Indian officials said soldiers from both countries have been patrolling toe-to-toe for the past three years.
India currently uses vintage field guns, mostly of Russian origin, that cannot move independently, although the country has recently started upgrading its artillery units. The Army has added U.S.-made light field guns that can be carried in helicopters.
Crucially, the Indian military research has found that the country needs to reduce the time it takes to locate and fire on a target from five to 10 minutes to about one minute.
Units that assist weapon batteries in acquiring targets are reorganized and rearmed. Last week, Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande said at a seminar that these units will be equipped with “remotely piloted aircraft and loitering munitions and swarm drones.”
The country is adding more long-range missiles and rockets to improve its “range, firepower and responsiveness along the northern border,” said General Pande, who did not elaborate on the exact number of additional reinforcements.