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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.
