(ET)
India has decided to enhance its artillery firepower along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China in eastern Arunachal Pradesh, with the US-made M777 Ultra-Light Howitzers likely to be deployed along the LAC by the year-end.
The development comes ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected India visit next week. After India’s decision to hold its biggest mountain combat exercise — Him Vijay — in Arunachal Pradesh, it’s learnt that China expressed concerns over the war games.
Talking of M777s, an official said: “The howitzers will be game changers. They will be deployed by the year-end.” The deployment is likely to be in areas such as Tawang, Kameng and Walong. The artillery regiments deployed in eastern Arunachal are already being trained to operate M777s, the official said.
