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Russia to supply improved Bofors shells

India will shortly receive from Russia powerful artillery shells specially designed for its Bofors guns, in a bid to improve the range and pinpoint accuracy of these guns.

The 'Krasnopol-M' artillery system, designed and produced by the Russian 'instrument design bureau', the KBP, at the request of the Indian government, enables production of high-precision shells for the Bofors guns which will enable the Indian army to reduce its expenditure by 50 to 100 times, task implementation time by five to seven times besides reducing overall cost by three to five times, informed sources disclosed.

The effectiveness of the shells, whose first consignment was delivered to India early this week, has been tested both in the Indian deserts and mountains, they said.

India had approached the Russian 'instrument design bureau' for meeting its requirement of appropriate shells, to be designed and produced specially for the 155 mm Bofors guns, after defence experts had criticised the range and accuracy of the shells used during the Kargil battle, the sources said.

The Russian design bureau had agreed to alter the 'Krasnopol system', which was already being used to design shells for the 152 mm guns, for the Bofors guns at its own expense. Initial trials for the shells, carried out in Indian deserts and on the Himalayas, had been described by ballistic experts as 'fantastic'.

Three Krasnopol projectiles had destroyed two tanks and one bunker at a range of more than 13km from the gun, the sources said. Research work had also been conducted by Indian experts in a bid to make the shells more effective for high altitudes, they said.

The changeover to high precision weapons is part of the Indian army's endeavour to modernise armaments and in this context, the new shells for the Bofors guns will meet the requirements of the Indian army, both in terms of efficacy and cost, experts say.

UNI

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