Amid increasing global demand for it, India today successfully completed flight testing of its advanced guided weapon system Pinaka. During the test, the range, accuracy, stability and rate of fire of the Pinaka system to engage multiple targets in salvo mode were assessed.
“The Defense Research and Development Organization or DRDO has successfully completed flight testing of the Guided Pinaka weapon system as part of the Provisional Staff Qualitative Requirements (PSQR) validation trials,” the Defense Ministry said today. Three stages at different field firing ranges.
“Twelve rockets from each production agency were tested from two in-service Pinaka launchers upgraded by the launcher production agencies,” the statement said.
With this, New Delhi’s defense manufacturing push under ‘Make in India’ is gaining momentum. France has recently shown interest in the Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher or MBRL system to strengthen its defence.
pinaka system
The Pinaka system, considered equivalent to America’s HIMARS system, has been India’s first major defense export since conflict-hit Armenia placed the first order. Now France has also shown interest in advanced rocket systems to boost the artillery division of its army. In fact, negotiations are already at a fairly advanced stage, sources familiar with the matter said, with France having decided to test the system in the coming weeks.
Named after the divine bow of Lord Shiva, the Pinaka rocket system was a replacement for the Russian Grad BM-21 rocket launcher for the Indian Army. It was first deployed during the Kargil war of 1999. The Pinaka system played an important role in destroying Pakistani positions at strategic heights during the war.
The Pinaka rocket system has been developed by the Armament Research and Development Establishment or ARDE, which comes under the DRDO. The system consists of a free-flight artillery rocket with a maximum range of 38 km with a variety of warheads and fuses. It comes with a multi-tube launcher vehicle, a replenishment-cum-loader vehicle, a replenishment vehicle and a command post vehicle.
The multi-barrel rocket system has two pods with 6 rockets each, capable of firing all 12 rockets in salvo mode within 44 seconds, neutralizing a target area of 700 x 500 metres. For the specific requirement of free flying rocket with increased range of Indian Army, ARDE has successfully developed Pinaka Mk-II rocket with a range of 60 kilometres. The existing launch vehicle and ground systems of the Pinaka MBRS are also used for the Mk-II, with minor modifications to fire this new rocket.
One battery can fire 72 rockets. Each launcher can now be operated independently and fire rockets in different directions, either separately or simultaneously. The launcher can be operated in manual, remote, stand alone and autonomous modes. Its shoot-and-scoot capabilities also enable it to survive counter battery fire.
The current version of the Pinaka system is guided, meaning the rockets have seekers, which are used for precision strikes. Becoming a guided system, it is now able to increase its range to almost double that of the first version. DRDO is now working on a guided Pinaka system capable of striking ranges of 120 km, 150 km and more than 200 km to counter China’s long-range guided rocket systems.
global interest
The system is already in service with the Indian Army and has been deployed on both the LOC with Pakistan and LAC with China. It was reportedly delivered to Armenia via Iran in 2023 to strengthen its defense against Azerbaijan.
France’s move to consider purchasing the Pinaka system is part of an effort to boost defense and strategic ties between the two countries. France is India’s second largest defense supplier after Russia. The recent T-AC 295 transport aircraft deal and the Rafale deal are testament to the strong defense ties between Paris and New Delhi.
