Artillery

155 mm FH77B Bofors howitzer

The 155 mm FH77B Bofors howitzer is a Swedish towed artillery piece developed by Bofors and widely known in India as the Bofors gun. During the 2019 India-Pakistan Border Skirmishes, Indian Army reporting and defense coverage described it being used for retaliatory fire across the Line of Control.

Conflict side
India
Built by
Bofors
Built in
Sweden

Profile

Type
155 mm towed howitzer
Conflict side
India
Origin
Sweden
Service note
Late Cold War design still used by India in 2019

Service History

In service
Indian Army service from the 1980s; used again in LoC firing in 2019
Used by
Indian Army
Wars
2019 India-Pakistan Border Skirmishes

Production History

Designer
Bofors
Designed
Late 1970s
Built by
Bofors
Built in
Sweden
Produced
1980s
Number built
410 acquired by India
Variants
FH77A, FH77B

Specifications

Caliber
155 mm / 39 calibre
Crew
6
Maximum range
24,000 m standard; 30,000 m extended
Rate of fire
Up to 10 rounds per minute
Mobility
Towed; about 70 km/h towing speed and about 8 km/h under auxiliary power
Elevation
-3° to +70°

Conflict Usage

2019 India-Pakistan Border Skirmishes
Side: IndiaRole: Retaliatory line-of-control artillery firestrike

In the 2019 India-Pakistan Border Skirmishes, the Indian Army used 155 mm Bofors guns to retaliate against Pakistan Army shelling along the Line of Control.

155 mm FH77B Bofors howitzer Images

Related Weapon Systems

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M198 155 mm howitzer, 155 mm towed howitzer, ArtilleryArtilleryM198 155 mm howitzer155 mm towed howitzerThe M198 is a U.S.-designed 155 mm towed howitzer developed at Rock Island Arsenal to replace older M114-series guns. Its air-transportable carriage, nine-person crew, and 22-30 km range made it a standard U.S. Army and Marine Corps fire-support weapon before the lighter M777 replaced it in U.S. service. In the 2013-2017 Iraq war archive, the directly sourced use centers on Islamic State capture of Iraqi M198s in 2014 and reported firing of a captured gun.

Sources