Current Affairs - Defence - Discussion

Officials from India and the United States were at the Pokhran firing range (Rajasthan) to test-fire M777 ultra-light howitzers. In May 2017, Indian Army took delivery of two M777 ultralight howitzers from BAE Systems, US under a contract signed between Indian and US Government in 2016. However, in September 2017, during trial firing, a projectile had burst in the barrel. The test conducted on March 5, 2018, was the first one after that accident. The results of this test will be examined by a joint team of experts. Built with titanium and aluminium alloys, M777 weighs around 4200 kg. It has a modular design; due to which it can be can be easily towed through narrow and treacherous mountain roads prevalent along India-China border and India-Pakistan Border in Jammu & Kashmir.