TATA Group To Unveil India’s First Indigenously Developed Howitzers

India-based Tata Group is expected to unveil the country’s first indigenously developed 155 mm howitzer in New Delhi today. Tata’s defense subsidiary Tata Power Strategic Electronics Division (SED) developed the gun this year which can be mounted on an eight-wheeled Tata truck for enhanced performance. The 'mounted gun system' can fire a six-round salvo on a target 40 km away in less than three minutes, according to reports. The truck-mounted howitzer will be displayed at an army seminar at the Maneckshaw centre tomorrow, reports India Today magazine. Tata Power SED began the 'Mounted Gun Project in 2010 and the prototype gun was rolled out of the Tata Power SED facility in Bangalore's electronic city this October. It will spearhead the group's bid for the Army's requirement for 814 mounted gun systems for Rs.8500 crore, added the report. The Indian Army has struggled to procure howitzers over the last 25 years with its last purchase being 410 FH-77B howitzers from AB Bofors of Sweden in 1987.