With Gun Assembly Plant, Defence gets a ‘Make in India’ Project
BAE Systems M777 155mm/39mm Calibre Lightweight Howitzer
by Sushant Singh
In what is likely to be the first major ‘Make in India’ project in
defence, the defence ministry is about to sign a deal with the US
government to assemble 145 BAE Systems M777 155mm/39mm calibre
lightweight howitzers in India.
Estimated to be worth $700 million, the deal is being done through the
Foreign Military Sales route and a draft Letter of Acceptance (LoA) has
been agreed upon between the Pentagon and the defence ministry.
The
ministry had given BAE Systems, the manufacturer of M777 artillery
guns, till October 31 to submit its offset agreements with local
companies. This includes the Indian company to whom BAE Systems will
transfer its M777 assembly, integration and test (AIT) facilities from
Hattiesburg, Mississippi (US).
BAE Systems has entered into MoUs with over 40 Indian companies to
fulfill the offset requirement, which are 30 per cent of the contract
value. The Indian partner for the AIT facilities, where 70 per cent of
M777 gun’s assembly will be completed, is yet to be announced.
“Several companies have the capabilities to perform such work and BAE
Systems is evaluating proposals. Establishing an AIT facility in India
will lay a foundation to expand future work content in India,
potentially leading to M777s for India and for possible export,” Mark
Simpkins, Vice-President & General Manager-India, BAE Systems, told
The Indian Express.
The LoA is expected to be inked later this year, nearly eight years
after the M777 purchase was mooted during the UPA-1 regime. The Army
hopes to get the first guns within six months of the signing of the LOA,
so it can work out the Range Table Development and start training the
artillery units.
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