M777 broke due to faulty shell

Probe blames ammunition supplied by the Ordnance Factory Board

Firepower: India is buying 145 M777 guns.

A preliminary investigation has found faulty ammunition to be the cause of the accident involving an M777 ultralight Howitzer during firing trials early this month.

“A preliminary inquiry has found that the explosion took place due to faulty ammunition supplied by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), and a further probe into the matter is on,” an official source said.

On September 2, the gun manufactured by BAE Systems of the U.S. was undergoing field firing for compilation of range tables when the accident occurred. The ammunition exiting the barrel broke into multiple pieces damaging it.

Commenting on the findings, OFB spokesperson Uddipan Mukherjee said such accidents could be caused by multiple factors.

“Any such failure is attributable to a complex phenomenon pertaining to internal ballistics as the shell moves at a very high speed inside the barrel,” he said.

$737 million deal

Last November, India signed a deal with the U.S. government under the Foreign Military Sales Program for 145 M777 guns at a cost of $737 million. As part of the agreement, two guns arrived in India in April for calibrating range tables and three more would arrive in September 2018 for training.

Deliveries were slated to commence from March 2019 to be completed by mid-2021.

(With inputs from PTI)