Army to get first howitzers in three decades

NEW DELHI: India will shortly take delivery of two M-777 ultra-light howitzers, manufacturer BAE Systems said on Thursday, the country’s first such acquisition in over three decades after a major corruption scandal in the 1980s.

The equipment is a part of a $750 million deal New Delhi signed with the US last year to buy 145 howitzers. India has not bought new howitzers for the army since 1986, when a deal to acquire 410 field guns from the Swedish arms giant AB Bofors became mired in corruption allegations.

The latest deal, worth nearly Rs 50 billion, was signed last year and will see 25 guns being delivered in ready-to-use condition with the rest being assembled by BAE Systems in India.