RAS question
Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) is developed by:
Correct answer: (B) Bharat Forge and TATA jointly with DRDO.
The Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System is a 155mm/52 calibre towed howitzer developed by DRDO with Bharat Forge and Tata Advanced Systems.
Explanation
ATAGS is not a platform made by a single defence PSU. It is a 155mm/52 calibre towed howitzer developed by DRDO with Bharat Forge and Tata Advanced Systems, and the Press Information Bureau release confirms the same ecosystem around the gun: the Ministry of Defence signed contracts with Bharat Forge Limited and Tata Advanced System Limited for ATAGS-related procurement, while also recognising the Project Director from DRDO's Armament Research and Development Establishment for the project's realisation. The system matters because it replaces older, smaller-calibre guns and strengthens the Indian Army's artillery firepower through precise, long-range strikes. Its listed features, including all-electric drive, high mobility and automatic ammunition handling, explain why the partnership answer is the relevant one.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) BEL is associated here with electronic systems, whereas ATAGS is a DRDO-led artillery gun programme involving Bharat Forge and Tata Advanced Systems in the PIB-supported context.
- (C) L&T is linked with the K9 Vajra, not this ATAGS towed howitzer developed as a DRDO project with Bharat Forge and Tata Advanced Systems.
- (D) HAL makes aircraft and helicopters, so it does not match a 155mm/52 calibre artillery gun system developed with DRDO, Bharat Forge and Tata Advanced Systems.
Concept
This tests indigenous defence technology and public-private defence manufacturing, a recurring RAS theme because artillery modernisation, DRDO projects and Make-in-India procurement often appear in current-affairs-linked Science and Technology questions.