Nagpur: Two separate accidents in a row have marred the Army’s old workhorse — 105mm artillery guns. One of the mishaps happened at Akhnoor, which is a forward base in Jammu and Kashmir. The second took place in Pokhran in Rajasthan, said sources. The accidents took place in a gap of a week.
It has been learnt that the guns have suffered barrel hits (bursts). This means shell bursts inside the barrel or comes out damaging a part of the barrel.
There are reports of casualties taking place too.
Source said the guns in Akhnoor and Pokhran were being used by the Army and Border Security Force (BSF), respectively.
The firings in both the incidents were not part of any trials. This is because the guns and the shells have already been established and under use for decades. Such an accident in an in-service gun has caused concern.
Sources say the shelf life of the shells needs to be looked into during post-accident examination as using old shell can lead to misfire. The probe may look into details of the gun’s maintenance also.
The 105mm guns have range of 18km to 19km, and are staple weapon of the artillery. It is also the first indigenized systems of the artillery.
There are two versions — 105 Indian Field Gun (IFG) and 105 Light Field Gun (LFG). IFG is the first version which was later upgraded into the lighter one — LFG. These are made at Gun Carriage Factory (GCF), Jabalpur, and Field Gun Factory, Kanpur. These come under the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). The shells are manufactured at ordnance factories in Ambajhari and Chandrapur.
While the gun has been damaged in Akhnoor incident, in Pokhran it has been learnt that the shell had ejected out of the barrel, but burst at a short distance. Both incidents are being probed.
Source link
English