The army will soon commence an unprecedented fourth round of trials in Pokhran for awarding the multi-billion dollar 155MM .52 calibre tracked and towed artillery guns contract.
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The decision to go in for the fourth round of summer trials for the Swedish SWS Defence Bofors guns and Israeli Soltam has been taken despite the Swedish guns emerging with a clear edge in earlier rounds and with the Israeli Soltam gun yet to complete the last round of winter trials, army sources said.
Artillery Directorate, which has been clamouring for converting the entire Indian fleet of field guns to 155MM calibre for the last 20 years, is said to be not very enthusiastic at the government's indecision and is hoping that political controversy does not saddle it with the second best option.
South African gun major Denel, who were the third bidders for the Indian contract to purchase 400 more 155MM .52 calibre towed guns, have not been invited to the trials as the company has been blacklisted pending a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into alleged payoffs in the company's contract to sell anti-material rifles to the army.
"The summer trials would be followed by winter tests in late November in Ladakh," army officials said. The defence ministry is also in the process of re-floating international tenders for the wheeled version of the 155MM gun following the Parliamentary standing committee and Comptroller and Auditor General raising objections to erstwhile National Democratic Alliance government awarding the contract to South African company Denel without holding any trials for the gun system.
In the wake of objections, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said, "We propose to float new tenders for the wheeled guns."
This is the first time, artillery officials said that four rounds of trials were being held for acquisition of the weapons system. Even as the process for holding trials for the upgraded 155MM guns was on, Swedish SWS defence, whose Bofors 155MM .39 calibre guns played a sterling role in Kargil crisis, have again offered the army the option of upgrading its 400 FH 155MM guns in use with the army.
The company is at present in negotiations with major Indian private companies Larsen and Tubro and Bharat Forge to create a subsidiary for upgradation and servicing of 155MM guns in use with the army.
"We will employ the subsidiary for technology transfer and offsets is the new contract is arrived at with India," SWS Defence officials said.
The Bofors offer comes even as Army is contemplating giving more orders for the Russian 130mm up gunned to 155MM by Israeli firm Soltam. The upgraded guns have twice failed trials. Former artillery officials said the guns not only carry outdated technology and could not be used in mountains, because they have limited elevation upto 45 degrees. The gun was manually operated and there was no automation provided to enable it to automatically loaded and fired, they added.
