Bharat Forge bags US $155 contract to sell 155 mm truck mounted artillery to Armenia

Significant breakthrough in arms exports with $155 million deal

By Vikas Gupta

Trade Standard, Nov 10, 22

In an unprecedented breakthrough in indigenous weapons system exports, Pune-based Bharat Forge announced on Wednesday that Kalyani Strategic Systems – a wholly-owned subsidiary – “has received an export order for a 155 millimeter (mm) artillery gun to be executed over a period of three years.”

“The total value of the order is $155.5 million,” said a company press release. This equates to around Rs 1,265 crore – more than a tenth of the value of India’s annual defense exports in each of the past two years.

Bharat Forge announced neither the name of the buyer country nor the type of weapon exported. However, sources from the Ministry of Defense (MoD) have confirmed that the buyer country is Armenia and that the order consists of 155 mm and 39 caliber howitzers which are mounted on trucks for mobility.

Defense Ministry sources say the order was only made public to comply with Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) regulations that require the publication of information that could affect share prices.

Bharat Forge held its board meeting on Wednesday.

At the price Bharat Forge disclosed, the Armenian order will involve the purchase of four to five regiments of 155mm Mounted Gun Systems (MGS). Each regiment is composed of 18 to 20 guns.

“This order, in a non-conflict zone, is a great testament to the Indian government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat program and its sustained efforts to promote exports of locally designed, developed and manufactured (IDDM) advanced defense platforms since the ‘India,” Bharat said. Craft the press release.

Bharat Forge becomes a major player in artillery gun systems, alongside Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL). The two companies are working with the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) to develop the Indigenous Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), a 155mm, 52-caliber howitzer that is significantly heavier, more powerful and has a longer range than the MGS.

This order will have a significant impact on the growth of global defense exports.

The government told the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of Parliament) on February 10, 2020 that India defense exports have increased sevenfold over the past two years, from Rs 1,522 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 10,746 crore in 2018-19.

According to an analysis of Trade standardthe value of authorizations/licenses issued by the Department of Defense Production to private companies and the actual exports of Defense Public Sector Enterprises (DPSU) and the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), the value of defense exports in previous years has increased as shown in the graph.

According to a target set by the Department of Defense in the 2018 Defense Production Policy, annual defense exports are to reach $5 billion by 2023.

Defense exports: sustained growth