An indigenously developed Artillery Gun which suffered a barrel burst in field trials earlier this month injuring four army personnel may need to go back to the drawing board, officials told ET.

The malfunction of the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), a 155 mm/52 calibre gun system designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), occurred during internal developmental firing at the Pokhran (Rajasthan) firing ranges on September 12.

The incident is being viewed as a setback to defence modernization efforts, especially since the army had put on the backburner a proposal last year to procure 400 artillery guns of the same type from Israeli defence manufacturer Elbit Systems, as the homemade one was still under development.

The remaining 1,180 guns were to be produced by the Ordnance Factory Board. The proposal was put on hold as the DRDO project was heading towards completion.

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