M777 ULTRA LIGHT HOWITZER

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Context: The Indian Army is inducting the M777 Ultra Light Howitzer on the northern borders.

Details:

• In the next five years, the Army’s Regiment of Artillery will see major force accretion with the induction of several guns, including indigenous ones. 
• It includes the Dhanush, Sharang, M777 Ultra Light Howitzer (ULH), additional K9-Vajra howitzers and the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS).
• The M777s are a key component of the army’s field artillery rationalisation plan (FARP), cleared in 1999.
• The 155 mm/39-caliber M777 howitzers have a range of up to 30km, but it is capable of striking targets at ranges of more than 40 km in some areas where the geography allows the shells to fly in rarefied air.
• Built with titanium and aluminum alloys, the howitzers weigh 4,218 kg. In contrast, 155mm towed guns weigh twice as much.
• The Indian Air Force’s CH-47F Chinook helicopters can carry the howitzers as underslung load for swift deployment in high-altitude areas.

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