Express News Service
BHUBANESWAR: In another boost to the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, India successfully test-fired multiple rounds of Pinaka Extended Range (Pinaka-ER) rocket systems that can act as short-range missiles confirming that the weapon is ready for series production.
As many as 24 rounds of the Area Denial Munition (ADM) variant of the weapon system with new indigenously developed fuzes were tested for various strike ranges at Pokhran in the last three days.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) along with the Army conducted the series of performance evaluation trials of the recently produced rockets with various warhead capabilities at field firing ranges in desert conditions.
The ADM variants of munition has been designed by the Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune, for Pinaka and manufactured by the industry partners under technology transfer. These trials were part of performance evaluation under technology absorption.
“All the trial objectives were met satisfactorily. The rockets were fired for different ranges and warhead capabilities to meet the objectives of accuracy and consistency. With this, the initial phase of technology absorption of Pinaka-ER bythe industry partner has successfully been completed making it ready for series production,” said a defence official.
The Pinaka-ER is the upgraded version of the earlier Pinaka version which has been in service with the Indian Army for over a decade. The system has been designed in the light of emerging requirements with advanced technologies enhancing the range.
The DRDO, after establishing the performance efficacy of the enhanced range Pinaka, transferred the technology of the system to the industry. The industry partner has manufactured enhanced Pinaka Mk-1 rockets with DRDO’s hand-holding during the production and Quality Assurance (QA).
In continuation of the Transfer of Technology (ToT) absorption, rockets developed by the industry have undergone the performance evaluation and quality certification process. The hand-holding during the production, quality assurance and launch coordination for bulk production is being provided by the DRDO design team and QA agencies nominated for the system.
The indigenously-developed proximity fuzes for Pinaka rockets were also tested. The fuzes have been developed through dedicated indigenous R&D efforts for the first time in the country. The indigenously developed fuzes will replace theimported fuzes and save foreign exchange.
The ARDE has also designed miniaturised fuzes for ADMs and developed different fuzes for the Pinaka rocket for different types of applications. After design validation trials, dynamic performance evaluation of the fuzes were evaluated with flight testing. Consistency in performance of fuzes has been established in consecutive flight trials.
“Performance of dual-purpose Direct-Action Self Destruction (DASD) and Anti-Tank Munition (ATM) fuzes were evaluated during the current flight trials and the results were satisfactory. All the mission objectives were successfully met in allthe above trials,” the defence official added.
The Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher System has been jointly designed by laboratories of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) – ARDE and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) at Pune.
The enhanced range version of the Pinaka system can destroy targets at distances up to 45 km. The 15-foot long rocket weighs around 280 kg and can carry warheads up to 100 kg.
