JAISALMER: The 155mm/52 calibre artillery

became the country’s first high-capacity Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (

) and one with the longest range in the world when it hit a distance of 48.074km in Pokhran field firing range on Saturday. This gun system was developed jointly by ARDE (DRDO) and Kalyani Group, according to a company release.

According to company sources, the country’s first high-capacity indigenous mm (supplement of Dhanush) gun ATAGS firing trials are currently on at the firing range in

Jaisalmer

. During the user trial, this gun set a world record of firing. ARDE and Kalyani Group jointly developed ordnance, recoil system, gun structure, gun control, automation and battery command post in ATAGS, thus making a gun system project in which any kind of ammunition can be fired. The futuristic and technically superior breech with higher service pressure can withstand upto 560Mpa. This hydro lateral gun can be deployed in three minutes at night and 2.50 minutes during the day. This gun is fitted with automatic ammunition handling system that can fire five rounds in 30 seconds.

According to sources, to make this gun better, testings were done at Balasore in Odisha in which ballistic internal trial and proof firing trials were done, while in Pokhran, strength and design summer trial and external ballistic, accuracy and consistency trial is being done. In winters, trial was done at Sikkim.