Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while reviewing the security situation and the operational preparedness of the Armed Forces during the 16th Combined Commanders’ Conference (CCC) in Kolkata, West Bengal, on 15 September, stressed on the operational readiness and the importance of self-reliance for defence. Artillery plays a dominant role in defence preparedness and indigenization for an Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Artillery has shaped Indian warfare from Babur’s cannons at Panipat to Tipu Sultan’s rockets, and today’s sophisticated systems such as Pinaka(Multi Barrel Rocket Lau launchers), Dhanush (Howitzer), K9 Vajra-T(tracked Self Propelled gun) and ATAGS (Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System). Together they illustrate India’s recovery from colonial-era deindustrialization to an era of indigenous design and private-industry partnership. Yet gaps remain — in metallurgy, supply chains, procurement timelines, and mass production capacity. To convert prototypes and prototypes-of-record into thousands of reliable, deployable guns, India needs a focused industrial and policy sprint.

The crux of the problem

A brief look at the inadequacies in the past will help to pave the way forward for making guns in India. If metallurgy R&D had been a sustained national priority in the 1960s–70s, India’s defence industrial trajectory would likely have been markedly different: early mastery of critical alloys and processes would have catalysed supplier development, shortened procurement cycles, enabled mass production of guns and engines sooner, and created a stronger export-capable defence industry by the turn of the century. The metallurgy breakthrough would have acted as the spark that forced the rest of the ecosystem to follow.

Metallurgy underpins the strength, durability, and precision of every defence platform, from artillery barrels to jet engines.  Superior alloys and heat-treatment processes directly translate into longer barrel life, higher engine efficiency, and reduced maintenance cycles.  Without advanced metallurgy, even sophisticated designs cannot be produced or sustained at scale, making the nation dependent on imports.  Metallurgical innovations like erosion-resistant coatings, lightweight composites, and high-temperature alloys give decisive battlefield advantages.  Thus, investment in metallurgy is not just a technical requirement but a strategic necessity for self-reliance in defence production.

Metallurgy R&D in India is stronger than it was, with real credible advances in critical areas. There are labs, capable scientific staff, and recent technology transfers. The academic and institutional base is in place and growing. However, India is not yet globally leading in many high-end metallurgy areas (e.g., single crystal turbine blades, ceramic matrix composites for hot ends, ultra-light high strength alloys for both guns and engines). The gap isn’t always in “can do it” — but in doing it reliably, at scale, cost-competitively, and on the timelines the defence services need.

Where we are: capability snapshot

India now fields a mixed artillery profile. The Pinaka MBRL family (MK-I to guided/extended-range variants) restored India’s rocketry legacy and offers long-range, high-volume firepower with guided options under development. Pinaka has been indigenized and continuously upgraded to extend range and accuracy.

The Dhanush howitzer — an indigenous Ordnance/Fabri­cation effort of PSUs  — is in service and represents the country’s ability to produce 155mm guns domestically, while K9 Vajra-T (Hanwha + L&T) demonstrates successful technology transfer and production of a modern, tracked self-propelled howitzer; India has inducted initial batches with follow-on orders planned.

ATAGS is India’s most ambitious indigenous towed 155mm/52-calibre program, a combined effort of ARDE, DRDO and private sector. It matches or exceeds peers in range (45–48 km with special ammunition), incorporates automated ammunition handling and an all-electric drive, and marks a leap in domestic metallurgy and systems integration. ATAGS is cleared after trials but needs mass induction and weight/mobility refinements for full operational utility.

Digital integration is improving fast. India’s Artillery Command, Control & Communication System (ACCCS) (also known as the Shakti/TAC-C3I family elements) provides automated fire planning, trajectory computation, and networked command & control — essential to exploit modern guns’ precision and responsiveness.

Key constraints 

Here are some reasons which inhibit desired speed of induction necessary to maintain and upgrade Indian Artillery ready for battles

High-pressure gun barrels require specialist metallurgy like alloy science, heat-treatment, and coating capabilities that are capital-intensive and concentrated in a few suppliers. Precision forgings, breech components, recoil systems, and fire-control electronics depend on diverse suppliers that must be scaled rapidly.Long procurement cycles and risk-averse contracting discourage industry from investing at scale causing delays. Because of the varying terrains Indian defence has to operate on, ATAGS’s excellent range and automation are offset by a relatively heavy package; lighter materials and design tweaks are needed for mountain mobility. A lack of fast, disciplined validation corridors slows iterative improvement and compromises confidence for large orders.

A Practical Roadmap 

The following measures combine policy, industrial scaling, and targeted R&D to turn ATAGS and other indigenous guns into mass-produced, export-ready systems.

For the immediate (0–12 months), MoD should publish a multi-year Indigenisation Purchase Plan (e.g., 300–500 ATAGS units over 5 years) with milestone payments. A clear demand signal de-risks investment. At the same time it should grand Challenges for metallurgy: fund 3-year competitive R&D prizes (IITs/CSIR/DRDO + private firms) to deliver lighter barrel alloys, erosion-resistant coatings, and additive-manufactured subassemblies. This accelerates solutions for ATAGS weight and barrel life issues.

For short term (12–36 months) India scale industrial base by setting up Centres of Excellence (CoE) for ordnance metallurgy (barrel forging, vacuum arc remelting, post-weld heat treatment) with guaranteed offtake for trial orders. Develop 2–3 artillery manufacturing clusters (for example near existing ordnance factories and private hubs) providing plug-and-play supplier kits, tax breaks, and fast-track FDI facilitation. Create live firing & environmental test corridors (desert, high altitude, coastal) where prototypes get rapid certification cycles and user feedback loops.

For the medium term (3–5 years) ATAGS should be moved from prototype workshops to assembly lines with modular sub-unit suppliers (barrel module, recoil module, firing computer). Modularisation shortens ramp-up and eases maintenance. Induce robotic machining, automated barrel rifling, and semi-automated assembly lines to improve throughput and quality. Simultaneously every production batch should be paired with ACCCS/Fire Control integration testing so new guns enter already networked, cutting operator training time.

Cross-cutting enablers

Induction cycles can be telescoped by setting up fast procurement lanes, by setting up “5x faster” certification lanes for defence systems meeting CoE-validated standards. Simultaneously  government-backed low-interest loans and production-linked incentives (PLIs) should be enabled for capital-intensive ordnance manufacturing. Also, DRDO and labs should offer non-exclusive, low-royalty licences to private manufacturers to build subsystems at scale.

The education sector should be empowered for continuous supply of competent human resources, expand focused PG programs in defence metallurgy and ordnance engineering tied to apprenticeships in manufacturing clusters.

Specific ATAGS actions 

As ATAGS is being planned as the mainstay of Indian Artillery, it becomes mandatory to sustain quality and uninterrupted supply and maintenance.

A 2–3-year campaign to replace select steel sections with high-strength, lower-density alloys or composites (barrel jackets, carriage components) and qualify them via accelerated life tests is needed. Erosion-resistant surface engineering (thermal barrier coatings, chromium-based liners) through DRDO-industry partnerships should be proritised.

A parallel action could be to prepare an export variant (lighter carriage, modular fire-control options) to target friendly markets; early export orders will help amortize production tooling. This can be achieved by designating one  design authority (DRDO) while two or more private manufacturers handle discrete production lots to reduce single-point risks.

Expected outcomes and metrics 

The aim should be to establish a production line capacity for 100–150 guns/year across clusters with 30–40% improvement in barrel life and 10–20% weight reduction for ATAGS subassemblies within 3 years through material and design changes. For better war preparedness time-from-prototype-to-regimental-induction needs to be cut from current multi-year cycles to 12–18 months. For a wider market export enquiries to be facilitated and aim for at least one small export order within 4–5 years.

India has moved from being a buyer to a designer of world-class artillery. ATAGS exemplifies that shift. To convert design success into strategic mass production, India needs synchronized demand signals, targeted metallurgy R&D, modular manufacturing lines, automation, and rapid validation corridors — all underpinned by ACCCS-style digital integration. With these measures, ATAGS can transition from a technological showcase into the backbone of an Indian artillery corps that is modern, networked, and produced at scale — ensuring operational readiness across deserts, plains, and mountains while catalysing a sovereign defence industrial base.

(The author is an Indian Army veteran and a contemporary affairs commentator. The views are personal. He can be reached at  kl.viswanathan@gmail.com )