SAIL Supplies Steel Forgings For Indian Army Pinaka Rockets

First time, Alloy Steel Plant has supplied special steel forgings for Indian Army's Pinaka rockets, The economic Times reported Monday.

Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), the special steels manufacturing unit of Alloy Steels Plant has for the first time supplied special forgings to Field Gun Factory. These will be utilised for application in Pinaka Rockets, a multiple rocket launcher developed in the country by the Defence Research and Development Organisation ( DRDO) for the Indian Army.

The system is reported to have a maximum range of 40 km for Mark-I and 65 km for Mark-II (under development), and can fire a salvo of 12 HE rockets in 44 seconds, neutralizing a target area of 3.9 km. The system is mounted on a Tata truck for mobility.

Pinaka was in service during the Kargil war, where it was successful in neutralizing enemy positions on the mountain tops. It has since been inducted into the Indian Army in large numbers.

As of 2014, about 5,000 missiles are being produced every year while an advanced variant is under development with enhanced range and accuracy.

ASP earlier also supplied various special steels for critical applications in Indian defence, space and nuclear research wings fulfilling stringent quality requirements.