By: Vivek Raghuvanshi
NEW DELHI — India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has ordered 36 homemade Pinaka Mark-1 multi-barrel rocket launchers (MBRL) at a cost of $490 million, despite complaints of problems related to its ammunition.
Pinaka-1 was developed by state-run Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). The additional order of two regiments (one regiment equals 18 launchers) was given last week to four different prime contractors: state-owned organizations Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), as well as private sector defense companies Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Tata Power SED.
Under the contract, BEML will supply a variety of vehicles for the MBRL, while L&T and Tata Power will supply the launcher systems and OFB will supply an unspecified number of rockets.
"Serious shortcomings have been noticed in the Pinaka-1 rockets as in a recent exercise; reports of the rockets exploding midair and at the firing port have been received. This indicates that the explosive used in the rockets may have been defective. This will put a question mark on the further production and induction unless the defects are overcome," said Rahul Bhonsle, a retired Army official and defense analyst.
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