Pinaka Missile Systems successfully test-fired by India

DRDO and the Indian Army successfully tested a new version of the Pinaka rocket system at the Pokhran firing ranges on Saturday, the defence ministry said.

It said 24 Pinaka Mk-1 (Enhanced) Rocket Systems (EPRS) were tested at different ranges during the past week, and the weapons met the requirements.

According to the Indian ministry, EPRS is an upgraded variant of the Pinaka which has been in service with the Indian Army for a decade.

It has been upgraded with advanced technologies to increase range in order to meet new requirements.

"Pinaka Mk-1 (Enhanced) Rocket System (EPRS) and Pinaka Area Denial Munition (ADM) rocket systems have been successfully flight-tested by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Army at Pokhran firing ranges, the ministry said in a statement.

"With these trials, the initial phase of technology absorption of EPRS by the industry has successfully been completed and the industry partners are ready for user trials/series production of the rocket system, it added.

Pinaka rocket system was developed by Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune, along with High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), another Pune-based DRDO lab.

Following the testing of the enhanced range version of Pinaka, the technology was transferred to the Munitions India Limited (MIL) and the Economic Explosives Limited, Nagpur.

"Rockets manufactured by MIL under transfer of technology from DRDO were flight-tested during this campaign. Different variants of munitions and fuses which can be used in the Pinaka rocket system were also successfully test evaluated in the Pokhran field firing range," the defence ministry said.

G Satheesh Reddy, the DRDO chairman, congratulated the teams that participated in the project for completing the flight trials.