The field trials are being carried out on two long-range ultra-light howitzers in Pokhran which the Indian Army received from the USA.
The M777 howitzer is a towed 155 mm artillery piece. It succeeded the M198 howitzer in the United States Marine Corps and United States Army in 2005.
The M777 is also used by the ground forces of Australia, Canada, India and Saudi Arabia. It made its combat debut in the War in Afghanistan.
The M777 is manufactured by BAE Systems’ Global Combat Systems division. Prime contract management is based in Barrow-in-Furness in the United Kingdom as well as manufacture and assembly of the titanium structures and associated recoil components.
Final integration and testing of the weapon is undertaken at BAE’s facility in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
The test-firing of the guns is primarily aimed at collating and determining various critical data like trajectory, speed and frequency of fire of the M-777 A-2 ultra-light howitzers (ULH) which are expected to be mostly deployed along the border with China.
