Jaisalmer: The Indian Army on Monday fired the US-origin Excalibur guided long-range artillery ammunition from the M-777 ultra-light howitzers in the Pokhran firing range. The firing was witnessed by the senior leadership of the Indian Army including director general, artillery lieutenant general Ravi Prasad.

These howitzer guns will be inducted in the Army by the end of this year.

The guns have been bought from US and are being tested for long-distance firing capacity. The trials are going on under the supervision of foreign experts.

In October, the Indian Army had inducted the US Excalibur artillery ammunition in its inventory. The M777 howitzers are planned to be used mainly for warfare in mountainous terrains due to their light weight and ability to be air-dropped by the Chinook heavy-lift helicopters in the high altitude areas in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. After Swedish Bofors guns, these American guns will be inducted in the Indian Army after 30 years. This comes in the backdrop of regular cross border firing between the armies of India and Pakistan, where the latter uses artillery guns. The ammunition is also being used by US forces.