Army to Buy Air Defence Guns to Protect People, Religious Sites Near Border
The new gun systems will have a range of up to 4 km and a cyclic rate of fire of around 3,000 rounds per minute.
New Delhi: The Indian Army is set to procure high firing multi barrel air defence guns to protect civilians living in border areas and religious places near the Pakistan border. The system will form one of the key components of the Sudarshan Chakra shield currently under development and will be integrated into the Army’s overall air defence architecture.
The new gun systems will have a range of up to 4 km and a cyclic rate of fire of around 3,000 rounds per minute. Target detection will be handled by an all-weather Electro-Optical Fire Control System, ensuring high accuracy and rapid response.
During Operation Sindoor, the Pakistan Army had targeted civilians and religious sites along the border, resulting in several civilian casualties in the Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab sectors.
“Indian Army Air Defence has floated an RFP for the procurement of six AK-630 Air Defence Gun Systems with Advanced Weapon and Equipment India Ltd (AWEIL). The system sought is a 30 mm multi-barrel mobile air defence gun with a high rate of fire,” said defence officials.
The AK-630 systems will be mounted on trailers and towed by high-mobility vehicles for rapid deployment.
According to officials, the AK-630 guns will be used to counter threats from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), rockets, artillery, and mortars, and will provide protection to key population centres and centres of faith located close to the International Border (IB) and the Line of Control (LoC).