The guided Pinaka MRL has completed trials prior to induction with the Indian Army, the Indian MoD has said. (PIB)
India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has completed flight tests of a “precision strike” variant of its Pinaka multiple rocket launcher (MRL) before commissioning it into the Indian Army.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) in New Delhi announced on 14 November that the Pinaka tests were completed as part of trials for the army but did not state where the trials were conducted. The MoD also referred to the MRL as the ‘guided Pinaka weapon system'.
It said the guided Pinaka tests were conducted in “three phases at different field firing ranges” as part of “provisional staff qualitative requirements (PSQR) validation trials”.
“During these tests, the PSQR parameters [for] ranging, accuracy, consistency, and rate of fire for multiple target engagement in a salvo mode [were] assessed by extensive testing of rockets,” the MoD said.
It added that 12 guided rockets “from each production agency from two in-service Pinaka launchers upgraded by the launcher production agencies [were] tested”.
The MoD cited DRDO Chairman Samir V Kamat as saying that the “rocket system has completed all prerequisite flight trials before induction into the Indian Army”.
According to the MoD, the upgraded “precision strike variant” of the Pinaka MRL has been designed and developed by the DRDO's Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) in collaboration with other DRDO agencies. These include Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Research Centre Imarat (RCI), and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL).
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