New Delhi: Successful tests of Pinaka Extended Range (Pinaka-ER), Area Denial Munitions (ADM) and indigenously developed fuzes have been carried out at various test ranges, said an official statement from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The Pinaka-ER Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher System which was successfully tested at Pokharan range has been jointly designed by laboratories of the DRDO - Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), it said.
The DRDO, after establishing the performance efficacy of the enhanced range Pinaka, transferred the technology of the system to the industry.
The industry partners have manufactured enhanced Pinaka Mk-1 rockets with DRDO’s handholding during the production and Quality Assurance(QA). The rockets developed by the industry have undergone the performance evaluation and quality certification process. Design team of the DRDO also assisted the industry partners in terms of launch coordination and bulk production, besides nominating QA agencies for the system.
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During the series of performance evaluation trials conducted by the DRDO along with the Army in the last three days enhanced range Pinaka rockets were test-fired at different ranges with various warhead capabilities at Field Firing Ranges. A number of 24 rockets were fired for different ranges and warhead capabilities to meet the objectives of accuracy and consistency. All the trial objectives were met satisfactorily.
"With this, the initial phase of technology absorption of Pinaka-ER by the Industry Partner has successfully been completed making the Industry Partner ready for series production of the rocket system," the DRDO said.
The Pinaka-ER is the upgraded version of the earlier Pinaka version which has been in service with the Indian Army for the last decade. The system has been designed in the light of emerging requirements with advanced technologies enhancing the range.
The ARDE, Pune, designed variants of munitions for the Area Denial Munition (ADM) for the Pinaka - ER. These munition variants were successfully tested at Pokhran Field Firing Ranges, as performance evaluation under technology absorption.
The indigenously-developed proximity fuzes of the Pinaka - ER rocket for different types of applications were designed by the ARDE, Pune. Following design validation trials, the dynamic performance evaluation of these fuzes has been evaluated with flight testing. Consistency in the performance of fuzes has been established in consecutive flight trials.
"These has been developed through dedicated indigenous R&D efforts for the first time in the country. These indigenously developed fuzes will replace the imported fuzes and save foreign exchange. The ARDE has also designed miniaturized fuzes for ADMs. Performance of dual-purpose Direct-Action Self Destruction (DASD) & Anti-Tank Munition (ATM) fuzes were evaluated during the current flight trials and the results were satisfactory. All the mission objectives were successfully in all the above trials," the statement said.
