The Indian army is set to get an artillery boost with a proposal being moved to raise six new regiments of the ilocal-made Pinaka Multi-Launcher Rocket System (MLRS). Sources said the Indian army has moved a proposal to add six new regiments with a total of 108 launchers, to its existing holding of three regiments to plug gaps in its artillery units.

The Indian army is set to get an artillery boost with a proposal being moved to raise six new regiments of the ilocal-made Pinaka Multi-Launcher Rocket System (MLRS). Sources said the Indian army has moved a proposal to add six new regiments with a total of 108 launchers, to its existing holding of three regiments to plug gaps in its artillery arm.

Indian-made Pinaka 214mm MLRS Multiple Launch Rocket System at military parde in New Delhi, India.

From the existing capacity of 1,000 rockets a year, the government has sanctioned an increase to 5,000 rockets annually, in a project that would costRs 1,388 crore. In addition, Defence Research and Development Organisation is also working at increasing the range of the system from the present 40 km to 60 km by making improvements in the rockets. Field trials for this new, improved Pinaka II rocket are expected to start shortly.

The development of the Pinaka MLRS started in 1986 and was completed in 1994. The first Pinaka regiment entered in service in February 2000. Currently, three regiments of Pinaka MLRS are in service with the Indian Armed Forces.

Designed to replace the army’s ageing Russian-built BM-21 Grad launchers, the Pinaka features six launcher vehicles of 12 rockets each, as well as two command post vehicles including a fire control computer, Digicora MET radar and six loader/replenishment vehicles with a payload of 100kg.

Pinaka is a multiple rocket launcher produced in India and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Army. The system has a maximum range of 40 km for Mark-I and 65 km for mark-II, and can fire a salvo of 12 HE rockets in 44 seconds, neutralizing a target area of 3.9 km².

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