India’s Cabinet Committee on Security has approved the largest domestic contract for ammunition worth ₹10,000 crore. The contract includes enhanced range Pinaka rockets and area denial munitions to be produced by Munitions India Ltd and Economic E...
New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has cleared India's largest domestic contract for ammunition, with rockets worth over ₹10,000 crore to be made domestically to meet Army requirements over the next decade.
The apex body, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave the final go ahead for procurement of enhanced range Pinaka rockets as well as area denial munitions (ADM) developed by DRDO.
The ammunition will be made by Munitions India Ltd and Economic Explosives Ltd, both of which have been transferred technology from DRDO. Sources said EEL, which emerged as lowest bidder for the contract, will get 60% of the contract value and MIL will get the remaining 40%, as they have promised to match the lower bid price.
Pinaka Mk-I (Enhanced) Rocket System (EPRS), which has been cleared for acquisition by CCS, has a range of over 45 km and the ability to move quickly after firing at enemy positions. A longer range variant that can strike targets at 75 km range has also been tested successfully and is likely to be ordered in the future. Work is also on to create even longer range variants that can strike targets at 150 km plus.
Pinaka ADM rocket system is a variant of the rockets that can spread hundreds of bomblets across a large area. These bomblets deny the enemy access to the area and can target personnel as well as incoming armour formations.
The Army has 10 Pinaka regiments on order and is likely to go in for a higher number in the future given the success of the system.
