A new standard for towed artillery
The Indian Army plans to procure 1,200 Towed Gun Systems in stages. These 155 mm, 52-calibre guns are intended to become a mainstay of the army’s artillery in the future. A calibre measure describes the barrel’s length relative to its internal diameter; here, the designation indicates a long-barrelled 155 mm system.
The first phase moved toward procurement in 2023, when the Defence Acquisition Council granted initial clearance for 400 units. In August 2024, the army issued a tender for that first batch under the Indian IDDM category, which emphasizes indigenous design, development, and manufacture. The reported tender value was ₹6,500 crore and included towing vehicles.
A demanding specification
The guns must weigh less than 15 tonnes, fire all existing 155 mm rounds in the army’s inventory, and reach beyond 40 kilometres. They are also required to last more than 20 years and to have a barrel life of at least 1,500 equivalent full charges—a standardized way to express the wear caused by firing.
Potential contenders include systems associated with Kalyani Strategic Systems, AWEIL, DRDO, and Larsen & Toubro, among others. Trials were set to begin in 2025.
More than a competition
A tender is not merely a contest between manufacturers. These requirements define what the army wants its future artillery to do: use ammunition it already holds, travel as a towed system, reach at long range, and remain serviceable for decades. The first 400 guns are only one stage in a planned fleet of 1,200.