<p> India will issue a request to the US Government next month for procuring 145 M777 ultra light howitzers for the Army at a cost of over Rs 3,000 crore.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"The Letter of Request (LoR) for procuring 145 Ultra Light Howitzers for the Indian Army through the Foreign Military Sales route would be issued in October," a Defence Ministry official told PTI today.<br /><br />The clearance for procuring these howitzers was given recently by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister A K Antony.<br /><br />The Ultra Light Howitzers of 155 mm (39 calibre) are being acquired for deployment in high altitude areas in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh, officials said.<br /><br />The Ultra Light Howitzers are expected to be the first artillery guns to be included into the Army in the last 26 years.<br /><br />After the Bofors controversy in 1986, no new gun has been procured by the Army for its artillery.<br /><br />The M777 guns, manufactured by the BAE Systems of the US, can be airlifted easily and be used for quick deployment of assets in mountainous regions.<br /><br />The go-ahead for procurement of these guns had been cleared by a high-level committee headed by DRDO chief V K Saraswat after leaked trial reports of the guns suggested that they were not fully meeting the parameters of the Army.<br /><br />The Army is also hoping to induct the Bofors guns manufactured indigenously by the Ordnance Factory Board at its facilities in Jabalpur. The guns will be ready for pre-user trials phase in December.</p>
<p> India will issue a request to the US Government next month for procuring 145 M777 ultra light howitzers for the Army at a cost of over Rs 3,000 crore.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"The Letter of Request (LoR) for procuring 145 Ultra Light Howitzers for the Indian Army through the Foreign Military Sales route would be issued in October," a Defence Ministry official told PTI today.<br /><br />The clearance for procuring these howitzers was given recently by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister A K Antony.<br /><br />The Ultra Light Howitzers of 155 mm (39 calibre) are being acquired for deployment in high altitude areas in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh, officials said.<br /><br />The Ultra Light Howitzers are expected to be the first artillery guns to be included into the Army in the last 26 years.<br /><br />After the Bofors controversy in 1986, no new gun has been procured by the Army for its artillery.<br /><br />The M777 guns, manufactured by the BAE Systems of the US, can be airlifted easily and be used for quick deployment of assets in mountainous regions.<br /><br />The go-ahead for procurement of these guns had been cleared by a high-level committee headed by DRDO chief V K Saraswat after leaked trial reports of the guns suggested that they were not fully meeting the parameters of the Army.<br /><br />The Army is also hoping to induct the Bofors guns manufactured indigenously by the Ordnance Factory Board at its facilities in Jabalpur. The guns will be ready for pre-user trials phase in December.</p>