ATAGS has a unique all-electric drive, as well as the unique ability to fire six-round bursts with a thruster up to area 7
By Vikas Gupta
Defence News of India, 13 Aug 22
For the first time, the thundering 21-gun salute that is fired during the Tricolor Salute at Red Fort on Independence Day will be fired by locally developed guns – the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), developed by the Defense R&D Organization. in collaboration with Tata Aerospace & Defense and with Bharat Forge Ltd.
“The timing is significant as this year marks 75 years of Indian independence and also the first time that a locally developed weapon will be fired on this occasion,” said an announcement from Bharat Forge on Saturday.
The gun salute is a dramatic age-old military salute or respect, which involves firing cannons or artillery. The military unit or warship firing its guns effectively demonstrates to the person or institution being saluted that it is disarming and rendering itself harmless since, at least in ancient times, it took a long time to reload the cannons.
The tradition of cannon fire is as old as the invention of gunpowder and rifles. Great Britain created an official ranking of individuals and states, specifying who was entitled to how many shots. States, such as Hyderabad and Jammu and Kashmir, which were entitled to gun salutes were referred to as “Salvation States”.
When India became a sovereign country in 1947, it, like other sovereign countries, was entitled to a 21-gun salute. Since then, on state occasions such as Republic Day and Independence Day, and during visits by heads of state from other countries, the playing of the national anthem has been accompanied by the firing a 21-gun salute.
To fire the salute accurately, there is a special ceremonial battery of 2281 Field Regiment stationed in Delhi. Firing 21 rounds at exactly the same interval is a high-precision task, and the ceremonial battery trains to do it exactly correctly.
The ATAGS is an indigenous 155mm x 52 caliber howitzer gun. The howitzer, which was developed under the Indian Army’s artillery modernization program, has during its test firing, fired one shot at a world record range of 48 km.
The ATAGS has a unique all-electric drive, as well as the unique ability to fire six-round propellant bursts up to Area 7, generating pressures in the gun chamber that could detonate smaller barrels.
“The state-of-the-art towed gun is manufactured with state-of-the-art technology, with firing and displacement capability and can fire a full range of NATO standard and in-service ammunition,” Bharat Forge said. The gun also boasts of great mobility in desert and mountainous terrain.
Commenting on the occasion, Defense Secretary Ajay Kumar said, “The initiative to use this locally developed weapon will be a testament to India’s growing capacity to develop arms and ammunition locally. The gun has been specifically customized both in terms of blank firing and sound attributes so that it is useful for ceremonial purposes.
