Indian Field Gun


The Indian Field Gun is a towed field gun developed in India and extensively used in the Indian Army.

Development

The Armament Research and Development Establishment began the design and development of the gun in 1972 to replace the older 25-pounder guns used by the Indian Army. It was produced in the Gun Carriage Factory, Jabalpur from 1978 onwards. In addition to the GCF, the guns have been manufactured at Gun Carriage Factory Jabalpur.
The shells are manufactured at ordnance factories in Ambajhari and Chandrapur. It shares many features with the British L118 light gun. It's suitable to operate in mountainous and other difficult terrains, because this gun has excellent portability.

Variants

Towed

The Indian Field Gun weighs. It has a normal rate of fire of four rounds per minute over ranges from. It can sustain an intense rate of fire of six rounds per minute for up to 10 minutes and a sustained rate of fire for up to one hour. It has a crew of six. The gun has a secondary anti-tank capability. It can operate in temperatures ranging from. The recoil on firing is absorbed by two side-mounted hydraulic cylinders. A circular platform provided with the gun can be used for rapid 360° movement. Manufacture of the Indian Field Gun began in 1978. There are three variants:
The Light Field Gun variant weights, but retains the same rate of fire and range as the IFG. The LFG can be broken down into two or three parts for easy transport and quickly re-assembled. The LFG can be heli-lifted and paradropped. The manufacture of the Light Field Gun began in 1984. There are two variants:
  • Light Field Gun Mark 1
  • Light Field Gun Mark 2

    Self propelled

  • OFB 105 mm SPG – consists of a BMP Sarath hull mounted with a light field gun. It was developed by ordnance development centre, Ordnance Factory Medak, but has not been inducted into the Indian Army.
  • Garuda 105 – a 105 mm/37 calibre LFG gun is mounted on an all terrain 4×4 wheeled chassis. This gun has all-terrain maneuverability. Based on the LFG, this gun has been developed by Kalyani Strategic Systems, a subsidiary of Bharat Forge.

    Operators

  • : 2,400 FGs in service with the Indian army. 1,700 are IFGs and 700 are LFGs.
  • : 10 in service, provided by India.