&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "India’s artillery boom: Can the indigenous ammunition industry sustain a long war?")
Recent conflicts, particularly the war in Ukraine, have reinforced a basic military lesson: advanced weapons are only as effective as the ammunition available to keep them firing.
India is undertaking one of its biggest artillery modernisation drives in decades, expanding both imported and indigenous capabilities.
The Indian Army operates 145 M777 ultra-light howitzers and has contracted 200 K9 Vajra-T self-propelled guns. Another 300 K9 Vajras are being pursued, potentially taking the fleet to 500.
India is simultaneously strengthening its indigenous artillery portfolio. The government has approved 307 Advanced Towed Artillery Gun Systems, or ATAGS, for 15 artillery regiments. The indigenous 155mm/52-calibre gun can strike targets beyond 40 kilometres. Dhanush howitzers are also being inducted.
But more guns create an equally important requirement: ammunition.
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A modern artillery system ultimately depends on a continuous supply of shells, propellants, explosives and fuzes. Recent wars have demonstrated how quickly ammunition stockpiles can be depleted during sustained combat.
India is consequently expanding domestic ammunition manufacturing, with private companies increasingly joining established producers.
SMPP Limited is among the Indian private defence manufacturers expanding into large-calibre ammunition. The company is developing manufacturing capacity for 155mm artillery ammunition as part of a broader expansion beyond its traditional ballistic protection business.
SMPP CEO Ashish Kansal believes affordability must remain central as militaries prepare for high-volume warfare.
But the lessons extend beyond artillery. Operation Sindoor has also sharpened industry’s focus on survivable unmanned systems.
“One of the big learnings from Operation Sindoor, was that we need drones that are EW compliant. They should be able to resist jamming, spoofing with a good navigation system to function in such denied environments,” Kansal said.
SMPP is also looking towards longer-range unmanned strike capabilities. Kansal says India needs to focus on kamikaze drones capable of travelling from a few kilometres to potentially 1000 to 1500 kilometres while carrying meaningful payloads.
The larger challenge is therefore evolving rapidly.
India needs guns, ammunition and increasingly affordable unmanned weapons that can be manufactured at scale.
Because in a prolonged conflict, military strength will depend not only on what India can deploy on day one, but how quickly its factories can replenish what the battlefield consumes.
