Indian MBRLS Pinaka Thread

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First Pinka rockets produced by private sector successfully test fired

In a major boost for Make in India, the first ever rockets fully manufactured by the private sector have been successfully test fired by the army, signalling that single source dependency on Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) will soon be a thing of the past. The Pinaka rockets were tested at a firing range in Pokharan on Wednesday and achieved the desired results by accurately hitting targets. The rockets have been manufactured by the private sector after a technology transfer agreement with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Sources said that six Pinaka rockets were test fired as part of the final developmental trials. The rockets have been manufactured by Economic Explosives Ltd (EEL) and are the first munition of its kind made by the private sector in India. They are also a success story for DRDO that has been engaging with the private sector to transfer manufacturing technology for home developed systems. In the past, munitions of this class have either been imported or have been manufactured by the public sector, with repeated complaints of failure by the armed forces. As part of the Make in India drive and push for the private sector in defence manufacturing, the Pinaka technology was transferred five years ago, with a decision taken to split further orders evenly with OFB. The army has a large requirement for rockets of this class, which is pegged at over 1,000 units annually. The Pinaka is a home developed multi barrel rocket launcher system that is already in service with the Indian Army. An order for two additional Pinaka regiments has been under process since 2017, which will be made by L&T and Tata Aerospace and Defence for an estimated Rs 4,500 cr. The armed forces have been looking at creating alternate sources for munitions to reduce dependency on OFB that has had a mixed track record. Industry estimates peg that privately manufactured munitions of different variety would cost 20-30% cheaper than the OFB fixed pricing. DRDO has also successfully tested an extended range guided Pinaka rocket that can hit targets at a distance of 75 km, a significant boost from the current range of 40 km.
Private sector is the key to success!! Private sector => competition which leads to improvement because you either perform or perish!
 

avknight1408

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I have never heard of 'Economic explosives ltd'. So did some googling. They are a subsidiary of Solar industries ltd. The company HQ is nagpur and company is listed in stock exchanges. Not only Pinaka but they are also a supplier for Akash & Brahmos. They are primarily a manufacturer of explosives for industrial purposes.

Official website - https://solargroup.com

Forbes india has done a profile of the company. Interesting article - https://www.forbesindia.com/article...ries-india-is-seeing-explosive-growth/57889/1

I wish them more success and realise of our dream of indigenous MIC.
 

WolfPack86

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Solar Group and Godrej to scale up Production of Pinaka Rockets by over 5000 per year
After Ordnance Factory, Chandrapur found it difficult to scale up production of the Pinaka rockets from 1,000 rockets in 2012 to 5,000 every year for the Indian Army, In 2016, Godrej & Boyce was roped in to design and develop a new automated assembly line for the production of Pinaka Rockets. New images of the Godrej & Boyce’s Pinaka assembly line at Ordnance Factory, Chandrapur was made available to media showcasing commencement of its full operations. The automated assembly will not only enhance the production capacity but would also be more efficient as it seeks to do away with most of the manual operations. The assembly line has automated safety features and facilities for monitoring the quality of production. As India’s commitment in developing self-reliance in production across strategic sectors gathers speed, our business units are partnering with defense organizations like Ordnance Factories to engineer new automated solutions that will increase our def production” Jamshyd N Godrej. Solar Group’s Economic Explosives Limited (EEL) soon could have the second line of an automated assembly line for the production of Pinaka Rockets after Army and DRDO successfully test-fired 6 Pinaka Rockets manufactured by them after Transfer of Technology (ToT) license granted from DRDO to EEL. EEL now can bid with Ordnance Factory, Chandrapur for future orders from the Indian Army, which till now was exclusively manufactured by the Ordnance Factory, Chandrapur since 2007. Sources close to idrw.org have informed us that plans to scale Pinaka rocket production to 5000 per year were planned in 2012 when Ordnance Factory was able to manufacture only 1000 per year. EEL now can manufacture 3000 rockets per year alone which with Ordnance Factory will be able to surpass yearly requirements once orders start flowing. Over the years DRDO along with the Indian Army developed much more advanced Pinaka Mk-II with an improved range of 75km and Guided Pinaka with a range of 90km since the Indian Army wants to acquire 22 Pinaka regiments which needed scaling up of production as the older Grad MLRS regiments are retired. Each regiment consists of three batteries of Pinaka launchers, Each Pinaka battery consists of six launcher vehicles, each with 12 rockets, six loader-cum replenishment vehicles, two command post vehicles with a fire control computer, and radar. At present Indian Army has around 16 Regiments which it wants to be around 22 in the next 3-4 years. With additional manufacturing capabilities been established and available now, DRDO can now boost and scale up the production of the Pinaka Rockets now, DRDO now plans to scout for the International buyers since the system is already cleared for Export from the Government of India and many countries have shown interest in the rocket in the past but talks could not be carried forward due to production constraints and bulk orders from the Indian Army.
 

WolfPack86

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DRDO completes key process relating to Pinaka missiles production
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Friday kick started a key process for production of Pinaka rockets, launchers and related equipment, officials said.


They said the DRDO handed over to the Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) all relevant details for mass production of the Pinaka rocket systems.


The DGQA is responsible for ensuring quality specifications and standards of all defence equipment.


“An important milestone was achieved today when Authority Holding Sealed Particulars (AHSP) responsibility of Pinaka weapon system was handed over by DRDO to DGQA,” the defence ministry said in a statement.


The AHSP is the authority responsible for collecting, collating and analysing key defence items in accordance with the laid down procedure.


Pinaka is a free flight artillery rocket system having a range of 37.5 km.


Pinaka rockets are launched from a multi barrel rocket launcher which has a capability to launch 12 rockets in 44 seconds. The weapon system is designed and developed by Pune-based DRDO lab, Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE).
 

WolfPack86

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India successfully test fires 6 advanced version of DRDO’s Pinaka with 45km range

India on Wednesday test-fired DRDO-developed Pinaka from Integrated Test Range in Chandipur off the coast of Odisha. It is the advanced version of the missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to increase its striking capability and precision. As per reports, A total of six rockets were launched in the series and all the tests met complete mission objectives. All the flight articles were tracked by range instruments such as telemetry, radar, and Electro-Optical Tracking Systems which confirmed the flight performance. The enhanced version of the Pinaka rocket would replace the existing Pinaka Mk-I rockets which are currently under production.
 

Hari Sud

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India successfully test fires 6 advanced version of DRDO’s Pinaka with 45km range

India on Wednesday test-fired DRDO-developed Pinaka from Integrated Test Range in Chandipur off the coast of Odisha. It is the advanced version of the missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to increase its striking capability and precision. As per reports, A total of six rockets were launched in the series and all the tests met complete mission objectives. All the flight articles were tracked by range instruments such as telemetry, radar, and Electro-Optical Tracking Systems which confirmed the flight performance. The enhanced version of the Pinaka rocket would replace the existing Pinaka Mk-I rockets which are currently under production.
What was the range of Pinaka before the test of the advanced Pinaka rockets?
 

WolfPack86

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Pinaka Mk-1 Enhanced Now Features New Fuse section, Range, other Design changes

India recently carried out tests of the Enhanced Pinaka Mk-1 that was seen with different Ring Type Fuze section when compared to the older model, leading to speculation that it was much more tailored now for Mountain warfare and to also take out concrete structures with penetration warhead. Pinaka Mk-1 Enhanced also brings in various improvements in the 2-decade old Mk1 design to improve an already proven weapons system which now will replace the older variant that was in production until now. Pinaka Mk-1 Enhanced has the same 214mm Calibre as its predecessor but is shorter by 156mm in length but gains 2.6kgs in weight but it still can carry a 100kg PF, RHE, DPICM warhead. Pinaka Mk-1 Enhanced now comes with a 45km range which is over 7.5km more than its predecessor and also has 5 years additional shelf life. Pinaka Mk-1 Enhanced does carry 11kg additional propellant to extract an extended range but with an overall rocket weight gain of only 2.6kgs, this also shows improvements of the Rockets internal components and electronics. Pinaka Mk-1 also now features six flat fins (WAF) for improved free flight trajectory for improved accuracy of the rocket.
 

WolfPack86

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After enhanced version of Pinaka Mk-1, development of Guided Pinaka nears completion

From the announcement of raising its six regiments in August to the successful test of Enhanced Pinaka Mk-1 last week, a lot has happened in the long-running development of Pinaka rocket systems and its upgrades. Now, the development of the Guided version of Pinaka, with almost double the original range, is nearing completion, said an official of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). In the conventional battle space, long-range artillery systems like Pinaka are used for attacking adversary targets prior to close-quarter battles, which involve smaller-range artillery, armoured elements and the infantry. The DRDO started developing Pinaka in the late 1980s, as an alternative the multi-barrel rocket launching systems of Russian make, called the ‘Grad’ and ‘Smerch’, which are still in use. After successful tests of Pinaka Mark-1 in the late 1990s, it was successfully used during the 1999 Kargil war. Over the next few years, multiple regiments of the system came up along India’s border areas with China and Pakistan. The Pinaka, which is primarily a multi-barrel rocket system (MBRL) system, can fire a salvo of 12 rockets over a period of 44 seconds. One battery of Pinaka system consists of six launch vehicles, accompanied by the loader system, radar and links with network-based systems, and a command post. One battery can neutralise an area of one km by one km. In the last week of August, in a step towards enhancing long-range artillery capabilities, the MoD announced acquisition of six Pinaka Regiments for the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army at an approximate cost of Rs 2,580 crore. At the time, the acquisition wing of MoD signed contracts with public sector entity Bharat Earth Movers Ltd and private players Tata Power Company Ltd (TPCL) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T). These six Pinaka regiments, whose induction would be completed by 2014, would eventually comprise 114 launchers with Automated Gun Aiming and Positioning System (AGAPS) and 45 Command Posts, to be procured from TPCL and L&T, and 330 vehicles, to be procured from BEML. These six Pinaka Regiments will be operationalised along the northern and eastern Borders of our country. In the last week of September, the Authority Holding Sealed Particulars (AHSP) of Pinaka rocket system were handed over by the DRDO to the Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) of the MoD. The AHSP transfer marks successful streamlining of production processes of Pinaka rockets, its launchers, battery command posts, loader-cum-replenishment and replenishment vehicles, as well as successful establishment of Quality Assurance processes. While these developments were about the Pinaka Mk-1, which has a range of 38 km, the DRDO has also developed an enhanced version of Mark-1, tested on Wednesday, which has a range of 45 km and some key additional features. These rockets have been manufactured by M/s Economic Explosives Limited, a private sector entity based in Nagpur, to whom the technology has been transferred. DRDO has also developed and successfully tested Mk-II and the guided variants of the Pinaka, which has a range of around 60 km, while the Guided Pinaka system has a range of 75 km and has integrated navigation, control and guidance system to improve the end accuracy and enhance the range. The navigation system of Guided Pinaka missile is also aided by the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). In March and December 2019, the DRDO had conducted multiple successful tests of Guided Pinaka. The development of Guided Pinaka is near completion, a senior scientist with the DRDO told The Indian Express. DRDO scientists said that initially, the Guided Pinaka has undergone ground-level trials for the evaluation of the propulsion. Once those parameters were met, the instrumental flight trials were conducted. In the penultimate stage before the user trials, field tests in Pokhran were conducted in March and December 2019. Highlighting the importance of Guided Pinaka, a DRDO scientist said that it will mainly avoid any possible collateral damage. The Pinaka rocket system has been developed to nullify a particular area, and the Guided version is its evolution from a rocket to a missile system. As per a set pattern of trials, the development has been following a path of internal trials, then user-assisted technical trials and then user trials. In the future, the Pinaka Mk-1, enhanced Mk-1 and the Guided Pinaka will coexist in the Army’s inventory, in the proportion that the Army wants. Pinaka will continue as a weapon that can destroy an area and the guided version will add an edge to it when a specific target has to be hit.
 

WolfPack86

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INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRES ADVANCED VERSION OF PINAKA, 122 MM CALIBRE ROCKETS
Indigenously developed by DRDO, the rockets were fired from multi-barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) on salvo mode meeting all the mission objectives


India successfully test-fired an advanced version of Pinaka rocket system and 122-mm calibre rocket from a test facility off Odisha coast. As many as 25 extended range Pinaka rockets and four 122-mm rockets were launched in quick succession against targets at different ranges.

Indigenously developed by DRDO, the rockets were fired from Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) on salvo mode meeting all the mission objectives.

Defence sources said while 22 rounds of Pinaka rocket were test-fired on Thursday, three rounds of the same system and four rounds of 122-mm rockets were tested on Friday. The enhanced range version of the Pinaka system can destroy targets at distances up to 45 km.

This was the first mission in the last three months and it was conducted amid the Covid-19 restrictions. “The flight test of rockets were tracked by range instruments including telemetry, radar and electro-optical tracking system deployed by ITR and Proof and Experimental Establishment,” said a defence official.

Pinaka has been developed jointly by Pune-based Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) with manufacturing support from Economic Explosives Limited, Nagpur. The new rocket will replace the existing Pinaka Mk-I rockets.

The 15-foot long rocket weighs around 280 kg and can carry warheads up to 100 kg. The trials were conducted with some improvements in the system making it more lethal. The unguided rocket system can neutralise large areas with rapid salvos.

DRDO Chairman G Satheesh Reddy said the quick reaction time and high rate of fire of the system will give an edge to the armed forces during a low-intensity conflict situation. The development of the extended range Pinaka system was taken up to achieve longer range performance, he added.

Developed by ARDE and HEMRL, the upgraded 122-mm rocket system will replace the existing 122-mm Grad rockets. The rockets have been developed for Army applications and can destroy targets up to 40 km.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO and Industry on the successful launch of both the rocket systems. He also commended the efforts of the teams involved in the mission.
 

Aniruddha Mulay

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How does the new Pinaka compare against something like the HIMARS?
1) Platform:
HIMARS- 6x6
Pinaka- 8x8

2) No of Rockets:
HIMARS- 6
Pinaka- 8(G), 12(UG)

3) Calibre:
HIMARS- 227mm
Pinaka- 214mm

4) Range:
HIMARS- 92km(GMLRS)
Pinaka- 37.5-90km, 80km(G)

5) Warhead weight:
HIMARS- 120kg
Pinaka- 100kg

6) Accuracy:
HIMARS- 5m CEP
Pinaka- 1.5% of range(UG), 7m-40m CEP(G).
 

prateikf

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