Not Just BrahMos, India Also Exported Indigenous ATAGS Artillery Guns, Akash Missiles, Government Report Reveals

In a win for the Made-In-India equipment in Defence and a surprise revelation, India has exported indigenous Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) to a foreign country, according to data released by the Defence Ministry.

India has earlier exported BrahMos supersonic cruise-missile system to Phillipines in a deal worth $375 miilion. India is also under talks with various south-east Asian and middle-eastern countries like Indonesia and UAE.

The ATAGS, is a 155 mm-52 calibre artillery gun designed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and produced by both Kalyani Defence and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL).

The gun is capable of being deployed in high-altitude regions along India's frontier with Tibet, where the Army is locked in a tense standoff with China's People's Liberation Army (PLA).

The indigenous gun boasts of unparalleled range capabilities, with its extended range sub-bore boat tail (ERFB BT) ammunition capable of striking targets at 35 km, and ERFB BB (base bleed) ammunition reaching a range of approximately 45 km.

Notably, in 2017, the ATAGS was successfully fired at an impressive range of 47 km.

Given the ongoing Ladakh border crisis with China, the ATAGS' high altitude performance is a crucial factor in its design. Just two weeks earlier (16 March), the DAC also approved the procurement of 307 ATAGS for the Indian Army.

It was speculated that the exported artillery gun was the Kalyani MaRG (Multi-terrain artillery gun). But new reports suggest that the exported gun could be ATAGS which is also manufactured by Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited.

Another new revelation is about the export of the Akash air-defence system. The country to which Akash is exported cannot be determined from the data released by the government.

It was reported that more than nine countries from South-East Asia and Africa are interested in purchasing the Akash air defence system.

Akash is a surface-to-air missile and has a range of 25 kilometres. It was inducted into the Indian Air Force in 2014 and was introduced into the Indian Army in 2015.

Just three days ago (30 March), the Ministry of Defence signed a contract to buy two more regiments of the improved Akash air-defence system for the Army.

Both these exports are coming on the back of India’s best-ever year for weapons exports. In the current year, India exported weapons of more than Rs 15,920 crore, up from last year’s Rs 12,814 crore and in line with the government’s Atmanirbhar initiative.