M777 broke due to faulty shell:

M777 broke due to faulty shell:

Context

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

What was the cause?

• A preliminary inquiry has found that the explosion took place due to faulty ammunition supplied by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
• 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.
• 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.

The $737 million deal with U.S

• 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.