NEW DELHI: The successful completion of the flight trials of the new Pinaka Mk-I (Enhanced) rocket system (EPRS) and Pinaka Area Denial Munition (ADM) rocket system on Saturday marks a step forward in the government’s multi-pronged strategy to manufacture arms and ammunition indigenously by domestic players.
“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,” the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement.
An upgraded version of the Pinaka variant which is in service with the Army, the EPRS boasts of advanced technologies enhancing its range to meet the emerging requirements. The rockets based on advanced technologies were tested by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Army at Pokhran firing ranges.
A total of 24 EPRS rockets were fired for different ranges during the last fortnight. Required accuracy and consistency were achieved in the trials. As per the MoD, the technology was transferred from DRDO to Munitions India Limited (MIL) and Economic Explosives Limited Nagpur. Rockets manufactured by MIL under Transfer of Technology from DRDO were flight tested during this campaign
On Friday, the ministry decided that 25% of the domestic capital procurement/acquisition Budget, amounting to Rs 21,149.47 crore, would be utilised for domestic private players in the ongoing fiscal.
Earlier, the MoD had decided to earmark 68% of the capital procurement budget for the entire domestic industry during Financial Year 2022-23. Accordingly, an amount of `84,597.89 crore was allocated specifically for the domestic industry for this fiscal.