All you need to know about Pinaka Rocket Range

New Delhi, Aug 31: The Indian Army has successfully completed the trial round of indigenous Pinaka rockets, a multiple-rocket launcher with a maximum range of 60 km. This comes as a huge step in the direction of 'Make in India' initiative in the country's defense sector by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

DRDO informed about the dry run of indigenously developed and manufactured enhanced range Pinaka rockets at Balasore and Pokhran. Quoting the defence officials, the ANI report said the user trials of the DRDO-developed Range Pinaka rockets were conducted at Balasore and Pokhran over the past few weeks. They said it marked a successful milestone for the 'Make in India' initiative in the defence sector.

The DRDO said that Munitions India Limited and Economic Explosives Limited, the manufacturers of the system, met the user requirements necessary for the completion of the trials, news agency ANI reported. The successful completion of the trials is a further step in the direction of the 'Make in India' initiative of the Indian government in the defence sector, DRDO officials said.

More About The Pinaka Rockets
The Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) is a multiple rocket launcher produced in India for the Indian Army, and comprises a free-flight artillery rocket. Pinaka Mark-I has a maximum range of 40 kilometres while the Mark-I enhanced version has a maximum range of 60 kilometres.

The Pinaka MBRL is designed by the Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), a laboratory of the DRDO. Based in Pune, the ARDE is the main DRDO lab involved in the development of conventional armaments, which refer to weapons with the ability to cause damage.

Pinaka Mark-I and Mark-II have a multi-tube launcher vehicle, a replenishment-cum-loader vehicle, a replenishment vehicle, and a command post vehicle, according to the DRDO. The rocket launcher has two pods containing six rockets each, and can neutralise an area of 700 × 500 square metres within 48 seconds.

Since the Indian Army requires a free fire rocket with enhanced range, ARDE developed the Pinaka Mk-II rocket with a range of 60 kilometres.

On April 9, 2022, Pinaka Mark I Enhanced and Pinaka Area Denial Munition (ADM) were fired from the Army Test Range at Pokhran for consistency and accuracy, as part of developmental tests. On August 24, 2022, the user trials were conducted. The Pinaka ADM is made by Yantra India Limited, a Nagpur-based defence company.