Bharat Forge Defence Company Profile, Products and ATAGS Program

Bharat Forge Defence, the defense arm of India’s largest forgings group, is now the lead private-sector builder of the 155 mm ATAGS howitzer, an order reported at roughly 307 guns shared with Tata. The parent company, founded in 1961 in Pune, earns well over a billion dollars a year, and defense is the fastest-growing part of the business.

1961

Parent company founded in Pune

~$1.8B

Group annual revenue, approximate

307

ATAGS howitzers ordered, reported

155 mm

Core artillery caliber

What is Bharat Forge Defence

Bharat Forge Ltd. is a Pune-based forging and engineering group that supplies crankshafts, axles and other safety-critical components to automotive, energy and aerospace customers. Its defense business, run largely through the Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd. (KSSL) subsidiary and the parent’s own defense division, makes artillery, ammunition, armored vehicles and forged parts for military platforms.

The company’s edge is metallurgy. A howitzer barrel or a 155 mm shell body is a forging problem first, and Bharat Forge already runs some of the largest forging presses in Asia. That let it move into finished weapons faster than most Indian private firms. Its role in India’s push for self-reliance sits alongside state-owned groups such as Hindustan Aeronautics and private rivals such as Tata Advanced Systems.

Who owns Bharat Forge

Bharat Forge is a listed company on Indian stock exchanges, and the Kalyani family, led by Chairman and Managing Director Baba Kalyani, remains the controlling promoter group. Neelkanth Kalyani founded the company in 1961. Defense activities sit in both the listed parent and in unlisted or partly owned subsidiaries, which makes standalone defense revenue hard to isolate.

Bharat Forge at a glance

Item	Detail
Headquarters	Pune, Maharashtra, India
Founded	1961
Leadership	Baba Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director
Group revenue	Roughly 15,000 crore rupees (about $1.8 billion), recent fiscal years, approximate
Defense share of revenue	Growing, but still a minority of the group total
Key defense subsidiary	Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd. (KSSL)

Figures are approximate and drawn from public company reporting. Check the latest annual report for exact numbers.

Bharat Forge Defence products

The catalog is centered on land systems. The main items are artillery, protected vehicles and ammunition.

Key defense products

Product	Type	Notes
ATAGS	155 mm / 52-caliber towed gun	Co-developed with DRDO; Bharat Forge and Tata both build it
MArG 155	155 mm / 39-caliber towed gun	Private-venture design, has drawn export interest
Garuda 105	105 mm wheeled self-propelled gun	Mounted on a truck chassis for mobility
Mounted Gun System	155 mm truck-mounted gun	Designed for rapid shoot-and-scoot fire
KALYANI M4	Mine-protected vehicle	Armored personnel carrier for infantry and police
155 mm shells	Ammunition	Forged bodies and filled rounds for domestic and export use

Specifications vary by configuration. Figures for private-venture designs are manufacturer descriptions.

ATAGS howitzer program

The Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System was developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation with private industry. In 2025 the Indian defense ministry was reported to have placed an order worth roughly 7,000 crore rupees for 307 guns and towing vehicles, split about 60:40 between Bharat Forge and Tata Advanced Systems. Indian officials describe the 155 mm gun as having a range above 40 km with extended-range ammunition, a manufacturer and program claim that will need to be confirmed in service.

The award matters because it was the first large Indian artillery contract won by private firms instead of the state ordnance factories. See our top 10 artillery systems ranking for how ATAGS compares with imported guns.

Bharat Forge exports and outlook

Bharat Forge has reported artillery and ammunition sales abroad, with Armenia a widely reported customer for towed guns, and it has courted European buyers facing shell shortages. Global demand for 155 mm rounds, discussed in our shell production race analysis, fits the company’s forging capacity well. The firm has also signed technology and supply deals with foreign partners, including aerospace engine makers.

The main risks are execution and concentration. Delivering hundreds of guns to Indian Army standards, scaling shell output, and keeping quality consistent will test the defense division. On the upside, rising Indian defense budgets, export liberalization and Western interest in non-Chinese, non-Russian supply chains all favor the business through the decade.

Editor’s read

Bharat Forge looks like India’s clearest private-sector artillery champion. The ATAGS order gives it a large domestic base, and shell demand abroad gives it a second engine. Watch delivery schedules, because a slip would hurt the credibility of the whole private-sector model.