DRDO Develops Propellant To Enhance Pinaka MRBL Range

The Indian Army’s multi-barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) Pinaka’s rockets will have a new propellant with polymer Hydroxy-terminated polybutadine and other chemical compounds added as boosters.

The Mark II version of the Pinaka will go for user trials in a few months. It is being tested internally by the DRDO laboratory right now. Pinaka has the capability of firing a salvo of 12 rockets in 44 seconds. It is one of the key weapon systems that is available with the artillery wing.

The new propellant has increased the range of the rocket from 40-45 kms to 55-65 kms, DRDO sources told our correspondent. The Mark-II version of Pinaka rocket system was successfully tested from a defense base off the Odisha coast in May last year. The tests were of an extended version of the rocket. While the older version of the rocket has a range of 40 km, its extended version can destroy targets at a distance of nearly 65 km.

Pinaka is the first indigenous rocket system successfully designed, developed and produced by the ARDE with the help of private industries that include Tata Power, Larson and Toubro along with the Ordinance factories board. The system’s capability to incorporate several types of warheads makes it deadly for the enemy as it can even destroy their solid structures and bunkers.