• The Indian Army decommissioned two of the longest serving artillery systems from service on March 16, 2021 at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan.
• These include: 130mm Self Propelled M-46 Catapult Guns and the 160mm Tampella Mortars.
• The two weapon systems, have been in the inventory of the Indian Army for around 60 years.
• They have been decommissioned to make way for newer equipment with the latest technologies.

130mm Catapult 

• It had a range of more than 27 km.
• The system was developed by merging two existing weapon systems: Vijayanta tanks and 130mm M-46 guns.
• The guns were inducted in 1981

160mm Tampella mortars

• It had a range of 9.6km.
• They were inducted after the 1962 war with China to fulfill the need for a weapon system to clear high crests of the Northern borders.
• Originally the system was imported from the Israeli Defence Forces.
• This mortar was successfully deployed on the Line of Control in the Leepa valley and the Hajipir Bowl and played a crucial part in maintaining the sanctity of the Line of Control.