With the successful completion of trials for its Extended Range (ER) variant, the Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher System, a product of Indian indigenous defense technology, recently reached an important milestone.
With its improved range and accuracy for battlefield operations, the ER Pinaka significantly improves the Indian Army’s artillery capabilities.
The Pinaka rockets could hit targets up to 37 kilometers distant at first, but recent improvements have doubled that distance to almost 75 kilometers. The system’s ability to support deep-fire missions and long-range enemy position suppression is made possible by its increased reach, which significantly increases operational flexibility.
With the help of an onboard computer, the new GPS-guided rockets can now hit targets within 25 meters of their intended location, demonstrating a quantum improvement in accuracy as well. The ER Pinaka is incredibly deadly against both concentrated and scattered enemy formations because of its accuracy and relatively hefty warhead.
The targeting and navigation systems are major improvements. The ER Pinaka has both an Inertial Navigation System (INS) and a Global Positioning System (GPS). When combined, these systems provide programmable targets and trajectories before launch. The onboard computer utilizes GPS to adjust the rocket’s trajectory if it deviates from its predetermined course.
Under electronic warfare conditions, the INS makes that the bullet still hits its intended target in the event that GPS is unavailable because of jamming or interference, preserving mission reliability.
Six launchers make up each Pinaka battery, and each launcher has 12 tubes, therefore each battery can fire a total of 72 rockets. They may be fired in as little as 44 seconds, thereby covering up to 1,000,800 square meters of an enemy territory in a single strike. Each launcher’s high degree of mobility after firing enables quick displacement and repositioning, improving survivability and maintaining operating tempo.
Additionally, ammunition has undergone modernization and diversification. Area Denial Munition (ADM) Type-1 (DPICM) and High Explosive Pre-Fragmented (HEPF) Mk-1 (Enhanced) rockets have been introduced by the Indian Army for the Pinaka system. The Pinaka is one of the most adaptable and efficient multiple launch rocket systems now in use thanks to these projectiles’ specialized effects, which include fragmentation and area saturation.
The Indian Army is getting ready for a significant rise in the number of troops equipped with Pinakas. There are currently four regiments in existence, but within the next two years, plans are in place to increase this number to ten regiments.
Additionally, ammunition has undergone modernization and diversification. Area Denial Munition (ADM) Type-1 (DPICM) and High Explosive Pre-Fragmented (HEPF) Mk-1 (Enhanced) rockets have been introduced by the Indian Army for the Pinaka system. The Pinaka is one of the most adaptable and efficient multiple launch rocket systems now in use thanks to these projectiles’ specialized effects, which include fragmentation and area saturation.
The Indian Army is getting ready for a significant rise in the number of troops equipped with Pinakas. There are currently four regiments in existence, but within the next two years, plans are in place to increase this number to ten regiments.
The Pinaka MLRS is a powerful weapon in the Army’s long-range strike arsenal and a tribute to India’s increasing technological proficiency in domestic defense systems, especially now that the extended-range version is going into service.
