Gunners showcase fire power

Gunners of the Indian Army displayed their prowess and deadly firepower as they showcased their combat-readiness with engagement of targets by a range of field guns and rockets.

The exercise–Sarvatra Prahar–that was conducted by the School of Artillery at Deolali in Nashik district here hosted officers of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Military Institute of Technology, Pune, College of Military Engineering  (CME) and cadets from the National Defence Academy (NDA), Pune.

Lieutenant General J George, Commandant, School of Artillery, interacted with various participants and delegations who attended the event.

“The exercise was conducted through a tactical situation requiring an appreciation of the operation and preparation of an Artillery fire plan in support of the operation,” a Defence Ministry spokesperson said.

Artillery
During the exercise a plethora of equipment was employed, showcasing the might of the regiment of artillery.

The entire range of guns, from the indigenous 120 mm mortars,  155 mm soltam, 105 mm Indian field gun, 105 mm light field gun, 130 mm medium gun to the sophisticated 155 mm FH 77B Bofors and 122 mm multi barrel rocket launcher GRAD BM 21 demonstrated their destructive power.

The gunners demonstrated accuracy, consistency and the overwhelming power of the artillery by simultaneous engagement of targets with a number of guns.
An array of new generation rocket and missile systems like Pinaka, Smerch and a model of Brahmos missile were displayed.

Surveillance and target acquisition equipment like the unmanned aerial vehicles, surveillance sensors and weapon locating radars were also showcased during the exercise.

A special draw was the combat free fall by Special Forces team and Cheetah and Chetak helicopters flown by Army Aviators which demonstrated the flying skill of pilots as they airlifted a 120 mm mortar as part of the exercise.