India is once again facing questions over the quality of its domestically produced military equipment, this time concerning artillery. The issue involves the modernization of old M-46 guns into the 155mm towed howitzers known as Sharang. A large batch has been officially rejected due to numerous problems, while production of 141 units out of 300 ordered has been put on hold nearly half the program.
Complaints include substandard metallurgy, poor barrel performance, low-quality mechanisms, and failures to meet accuracy and safety standards during testing. In short, the situation reflects extremely poor quality control in the country's defense industry.
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What makes this more troubling is that, before such information surfaced, the Indian military had already received 159 Sharang guns, despite these problems being known for two years. This suggests either corruption or an unwillingness to create negative publicity, or attempts to solve the issues quietly efforts that clearly failed.
India's Ministry of Defense now plans large-scale inspections at production facilities. As a result, penalties may be imposed, contracts revised, or some factories blacklisted entirely, prohibiting cooperation.
These steps are logical, but doubts remain over how thoroughly they will be implemented. In the worst-case scenario, India may be forced to turn to imported components a move it will try to avoid given its strong push for defense localization.
For reference, the Sharang is a modernization of Soviet M-46s from the 1950s, reconfigured from 130mm to 155mm with a 45-caliber barrel. This was intended to improve performance and unify India's artillery fleet.
Fleet standardization was planned for 2030, but with these new setbacks, that target is unlikely to be met. Instead, efforts will likely focus on producing new ATAGS towed howitzers, with the first regiment expected only in 2027.
Quality issues in Indias defense industry are neither new nor rare, having plagued multiple programs. A notable example is the ongoing effort to develop an indigenous fighter jet engine, which is approaching its 40th year without a successful outcome.
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