Dhanush, Sharang, Amogh and more: Dissecting India's field artillery plans

The Indian army has embarked on a breakneck acquisition of towed and self-propelled artillery systems, but is also raising 15 Shaktibaan regiments composed of drones and loitering munitions. With money being invested in both programmes, how does the Regiment of Artillery plan to fight the next war?

Earlier this week, news arrived that the Indian army is planning to acquire 300 new 155mm/45-calibre Dhanush artillery gun systems. These will form part of fifteen new medium artillery regiments, in addition to the existing 114 on order which will form six regiments and 80 of which have already been delivered.

The planned acquisition is certainly great news for defence watchers. It helps establish a large, modernised inventory of field artillery systems that, along with self-propelled and rocket artillery systems like the K9 Vajra and Pinaka, can help saturate enemy defences and create sanitised pathways in enemy territory for the infantry and armoured formations to exploit.

The planned acquisition of about 300 105mm/37-calibre mounted gun systems, for which the Ministry of Defence granted Acceptance of Necessity in 2025, may also help the Army plan offensive operations in high altitude areas where deploying heavy artillery could become a severe logistical challenge, especially if planned in large numbers.

This brings us to the question of how the Indian army plans to deploy its artillery in future wars, given how vulnerable towed artillery systems can be in a drone-rich environment where a well-conducted swarm attack can destroy an entire regiment in minutes.

Was Operation Sindoor a catalyst?

We saw visual evidence of the army and the air force combating hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of drones launched from Pakistan during Operation Sindoor shortly before we formatted their air bases. Our drone warfare defence received a mighty shot in the arm in the battle, and the learning experience is enabling the forces to actively pursue new technologies and weapons to shoot down drones at scale. Perhaps the armed forces' confidence in their defensive capabilities is giving rise to a more offensive approach.

Our generals have already warned that phase two of Operation Sindoor will be no less than a spectacular event, something that has been war-gamed and refined in the past year. I assume the approach will be to patiently let the Pakistanis exhaust their imported drone inventories and then let loose an assault where artillery regiments will be key to destroying forward-deployed enemy formations.

The army's new-found approach to artillery acquisition betrays this plan. After more than two decades of zero acquisitions, in the past decade, we have ordered/inducted six regiments of M777 guns, two hundred K9 Vajra self-propelled guns (ten regiments), more than three hundred 155mm/52-calibre ATAGS guns, 114 Dhanush guns, and half a dozen Pinaka regiments.

The reported acquisition of 307 Dhanush guns along with a similar number of 105mm/37-calibre mounted gun systems will possibly build an artillery setup that's not intended to deter, but to absolutely destroy everything in its path and also any semblance of resolve in the field marshal's head.

We haven't yet spoken about the existing inventories of Smerch and Grad rocket systems, nor the planned acquisition of hundreds of 155mm mounted gun systems, samples of which have already been tested by the army. It's worth mentioning that the Regiment of Artillery also operates a large inventory of legacy Bofors guns, possibly about 150 of them, and a similar number of upgraded 155mm/45 calibre Sharang guns.

The army also has a very large stock, reportedly 1,800, of legacy 105mm Indian Field Guns that have lower ranges but are easily deployable at varied terrains. Some of them have been mounted on BMP Sarath trucks to enhance mobility while the rest will be kept until newer units of 105mm/37 calibre mounted gun systems arrive.

Once the ordered units get inducted and the ones in the pipeline are ordered, the Army will get to deploy a formidable artillery armada supported by dedicated Surveillance and Target Acquisition (SATA) units and long-range supersonic missile systems like the Brahmos, Pralay and Shaurya missiles.

The arrival of Shaktibaans

The army's acquisition of powerful gun systems is welcome move, but flies in the face of a new artillery doctrine that envisions the raising of Shaktibaan regiments. As per government literature, the army will raise up to twenty new Shaktibaan regiments composed of loitering munitions, drone swarms and kamikaze drones for precision strikes.

To put it short, these regiments will fill the space between the range of artillery guns and precision missile systems like the Brahmos. In a future war scenario, these regiments could play an initial, yet decisive, part in damaging enemy assets, radar systems, launch pads, bases and headquarters with precision drone strikes. It won't be far-fetched to suggest that Shaktibaans could become the default for artillery operations during full-scale wars in the future.

I am not suggesting that the army isn't investing in drone technology. It certainly is, but the parallel investment in long range missile systems and limited-range artillery guns suggests that the army isn't discounting the possibility of heavy contact warfare involving close-range fire exchanges within a 50 kilometre radius. The scenario could come into play in the event of a large-scale invasion.

I can understand why military planners thought it wise to introduce the Shaktibaans even if we have overwhelming superiority in the number of deployed artillery guns. And this has to do with how the Pakistani army plays the artillery game.

The Pakistan Army's Regiment of Artillery primarily deploys self-propelled howitzers, including more than six hundred vintage M110s and M109s imported from the U.S. and Italy and more than 400 pieces of modern 155mm/52-calibre SH-15 self-propelled guns imported from China. The idea is to conduct a mobile defence, giving the SPH units enough time to fire their guns and rush back to a safe distance to reload.

The Indian army's self-propelled inventory isn't large enough. We have retired the Abbotts and have ordered just 200 K9s. For towed artillery units, chasing a pack of self-propelled units isn't a wise idea. This is where the Shaktibaans come in. They track the SP units and let loose a drone barrage that destroy the moving units en masse. This gives time for the towed artillery units to move forward and choose their targets.

How the situation plays out during a real war is anybody's guess, but the army's acquisition pattern suggests it is still building a large invasion force while also deploying tactical drones and missiles to win short battles. The logic goes well with our stated assertion that Pakistan is in possession of territory that is legitimately ours.