On Friday, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said that it has successfully test-fired enhanced range versions of indigenously-developed Pinaka rockets and 122 mm Caliber rockets from a Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.
On Thursday and Friday, twenty-five enhanced Pinaka rockets were launched in quick succession against targets at different ranges. The mission objectives were met during the launched. “Enhanced range version of the Pinaka Rocket System can destroy targets up to a distance of 45 km,” said the Ministry of Defence.
An official said that the development of the enhanced Pinaka system had been taken up to achieve longer range performance, and the flight articles had been tracked by various range instruments to check the accuracy of the rockets hitting the target.
Indian Army developed four enhanced version of 122 mm Caliber rockets which could destroy targets upto 40 km, and had been test-fired with full instrumentation and they met the mission objectives as well. The existing 122 mm Grad Rockets would be replaced by the enhanced rocket system.
Rajnat Singh, the Defence Minister congratulated DRDO and the industry for the successful launch of the enhanced Pinaka rockets and 122 mm Caliber rockets. The Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) in Pune and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) with manufacturing support of M/s Economic Explosives Limited in Nagpur, developed jointly the rocket system.
