November 26, 2012: After multiple twists and turns, the Indian MoD has finally dispatched a letter of request (LoR) to the Pentagon for the supply of 145 BAE Systems M777 ultra-light howitzer (ULH) guns. The foreign military sales (FMS) deal is expected to be worth roughly $650-million. According to the original notification to the US Congress in 2010, the package also includes laser inertial artillery pointing systems (LINAPS), warranty, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, maintenance, personnel training and training equipment, the US Government and contractor representatives' technical assistance, engineering and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics support.

The ULHs will be easily transportable by heavy-lift helicopter or transport aircraft—in fact the CH-47F Chinook which the IAF has selected for its heavy helicopter competition is capable of transporting an M777 as an underslung load—one of the many requirements put down by the Indian Army for its light gun requirement. The M777 will be deployable in the Northern and Eastern sectors. The deal carries a 30 per cent offsets requirement.

 

Indiana National Guard Soldiers work together to smoothly execute a fire mission using their M777

US Army Staff Sgt. Freddie Goggins Jr. of 2nd Infantry Division pulls the lanyard and fires a M777 howitzer
at Forward Operating Base Al Masaak, southern Afghanistan

A gun line team US Army's 1st Infantry Division fires a 155mm M777 during a live fire exercise in Kansas

US Army 25th Infantry Division executes a high angle fire mission from an M777 howitzer during section
certifications at the Puhakuloa Training area on Hawaii's Big Island

US Army soldiers fire the M777 at COP Wolverine in Zabul Province, Afghanistan

Soldiers from US Army 1st Armored Division, conduct sling-load operations of M777 on a CH-47 Chinook
at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico