Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher

Pinaka is a multiple launch rocket system produced in India and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation for the Indian Army. The multi-barrel rocket launcher has a maximum range of for Mark-I Enhanced and for Long Range Guided Rocket version, and can fire a salvo of 12 HE rockets per launcher in 44 seconds. The system is mounted on a Tatra truck frame. Pinaka saw service during the Kargil War, where it was successful in neutralising Pakistani positions on the mountain tops. It has since been inducted into the Indian Army in large numbers.
In April 2013, was sanctioned for increasing the production capacity of Pinaka rockets from then 1,000 to 5,000 per year. Unutilised land of the Yantra India Limited was also being considered for further capacity expansion when production of advanced variants would commence. The expansion was completed by 2014.

Development

In 1981, in response to the Indian Army's need for a long range artillery system, the Indian Ministry of Defence sanctioned two confidence building projects. In July 1983, the Army formulated their General Staff Qualitative Requirement for the system. The Armament Research & Development Establishment was appointed the System Coordinator for the project. The project included seven other laboratories of the DRDO, such as the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment, High Energy Materials Research Laboratory and Electronics and Radar Development Establishment.
The DRDO was to fabricate seven launcher vehicles, of which six were to be supplied to the Army for user trials, three replenishment-cum-loader vehicles including two for the Army’s user trials, one command post vehicle. Induction was planned at the rate of one Regiment per year from 1994 onwards. This system would eventually replace the BM-21 Grad and BM-30 Smerch of the Indian Army.

Ammunition

Mark 1

Development began in December 1986, with a sanctioned budget of. The development was to be completed in December 1992. As per a report the prototype was rolled out by 1992. The user trials of the system by the Army began by February 1999 after the developmental trials. The user trials ended in December 1999. The first order for full-rate production was placed with Ordnance Factory in 2007.
The Pinaka is in the process of further improvement. Israel Military Industries cooperated with DRDO to implement its Trajectory Correction System on the Pinaka, for further improvement of its CEP. Said programme is indicated to have greatly increased the CEP of the Pinaka The rockets can also be guided by GPS to improve their accuracy. A wraparound microstrip antenna has been developed by DRDO for this system.
Sagem completed delivery of its Sigma 30 laser-gyro artillery navigation and pointing system for two Pinaka MBRL systems in June 2010. The Sigma 30 artillery navigation and pointing system is designed for high-precision firing at short notice. The systems would be integrated by Tata Power SED and Larsen & Toubro. The system was ordered in February 2008.To decrease single source dependency from Ordnance Factory Board and increase competition in product pricing front, final developmental trials of Pinaka manufactured fully by Indian private sector Solar Industries under Transfer of Technology agreement from DRDO were successfully conducted by Indian Army at Pokhran Range on 19 August 2020. As of December 2021, the trials of rockets developed by Economic Explosives Ltd. and Yantra India Limited-Munitions India Limited are underway for two variants, Mk-I Enhanced and Mk-I ADM. The order for these variants are to be placed with one or two of the competitors in order to replace the shorter ranged Mk-I variant rockets.
The Area Denial Munition Type-1's warhead comprises a DPICM sub-munitions offering anti-access/area denial capabilities to the force against mechanised forces, vehicles and personnel. The orders for ADM Type 1 and Mk-1 Enhanced were placed on 6 February 2025. The Enhanced variant was inducted as of June 2025.

Guided Pinaka

The Guided Pinaka rockets is a variant of Mark II. It is equipped with a navigation, guidance, control kit and has considerably enhanced the range and accuracy of the missile. The rocket has an enhanced range of with an accuracy of at all ranges. The rockets are equipped with Inertial Navigation System and Global Positioning System.
As of September 2022, Defence Acquisition Council has cleared the procurement proposal of induction of Guided Pinaka variant. The Flight Trials of Guided Pinaka as part of Validation Trials were completed in November 2024.
The first batch of Guided Pinaka rockets were flagged off by the Indian Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, for export to the Armenian Ground Forces from the Rocket Assembly area, Pinaka Rocket manufacturing facility, Nagpur facility of Solar Defence & Aerospace Limited on 18 January 2026. The Medium Caliber Ammunition Manufacturing Facility was also inaugurated the same day. The fully-automated facility will supply 30 mm ammunition for the Indian Army and Navy. The tender to acquire the variant for the Indian Army was being finalised.

Further development

Mark 2

Pinaka Mk II is being developed by Armament Research and Development Establishment, Pune; Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad; and Defence Research and Development Laboratory, Hyderabad. This is the second generation variant of Pinaka MBRL.
Pinaka Mark 2 was pursued as part of an incremental development approach to extend the range of Pinaka Mark 1, while the Guided Pinaka emerged as a parallel derivative focused on improving accuracy and precision through the addition of a guidance section.
Pinaka Mark 2 manufactured by Solar Industries completed User Assisted Technical Trial on 8 December 2021 and will now go for user trial which will be completed by March 2022. In the meantime, Yantra India Limited-Munitions India Limited is developing prototype of Pinaka Mark 2 due to delay in transfer of technology by ARDE as of December 2021.

LRGR 120

In 2005, ARDE revealed about the development of a long range MRL similar to the Smerch MRLS. A 7.2-metre rocket for the Pinaka MBRL, which can reach a distance of 120 km and carry a 250 kg payload will be developed. These new rockets can be fired in 44 seconds, have a maximum speed of Mach 4.7, rise to an altitude of 40 km before hitting its target at Mach 1.8. Integrating UAVs with the Pinaka is also in the pipeline, as DRDO intends to install guidance systems on these rockets to increase their accuracy.
On 17 January 2024, reports revealed that DRDO is developing two new variants of Pinaka rockets, one with a range of 120 km and the other with a range of over 200 km.'
On 24 January 2024, few other reports revealed that the range of the rockets shall be 120 km and 300 km, respectively. The development of new variants have been approved by the Indian Army. While the 120 km rocket is to have the same calibre as of the earlier variants, enabling it to be fired from earlier launchers, the Preliminary Services Qualitative Requirements of the other variant is being chalked out.'
As of February 2025, the developmental trials for 120 km-range rockets are expected to commence within few months. The development process began in 2024, and the first test is scheduled for October 2025. Economic Explosives Limited has developed the LRGR 120 rocket system's pre-production units.
As per reports published in December 2025, the Indian Army has initiated a project to induct 120 km range Pinaka rockets at a cost of. The service had sent a proposal to the defence ministry to be considered by the Defence Acquisition Council. The rockets would be compatible with in-service Pinaka launchers. The project, referred to as Long Range Guided Rockets, was cleared by the DAC on 29 December.
Ejectable Rocket Ignition System
For the LRGR 120, ARDE is developing a modular ignition system to increase range, fuel efficiency, and reduce rocket reloading time. In order to lessen the rocket's weight while in flight, it is made to detach from the rocket after launch.

Ramjet propulsion

A group of researchers led by Lieutenant General P.R. Shankar, a professor in the aerospace department at IIT Madras and the former Director General of Artillery for the Indian Army Combat and Combat Support Arms, are developing ramjet propulsion technology that will be incorporated into the Pinaka rockets. It is anticipated that the range of 210–214 mm rocket will increase at 225–250 km with the addition of ramjet propulsion, all the while preserving the operational flexibility of the system.
The development is expected to begin soon as of January 2026. The system will enhance the BM-21 Agnibaan's range from to and LRGR-120's range to. The development for BM-21 rockets is expected to span between March 2026 and 2028-end The design will then be transferred to a company for production. This will be followed by development for the Pinaka variant.

Air Force and Navy variants

In February 2025, it was reported that DRDO has commenced development of Pinaka variant for naval and air force applications. The DRDO has already received the Provisional Staff Qualitative Requirements from the Navy. The naval variant with a range of 75 km is to be flight tested in 2025 and will have underwater applications including submarine countermeasures. The Air Force also intends to operate surface-to-surface variants as a cost-effective alternative to Pralay missile as well as an air-to-surface variant for integration on the Mirage-2000, HAL Tejas and the Su-30MKI.

Testing

The first tests of the rocket system was conducted in late 1990, around 1995.
User trials of the Pinaka Mk-I was carried out from February to December in 1999. It also took part in the Kargil War.
From 30 to 31 January 2013, seven rounds of Pinaka Mk-I were successfully fired from the test range of Proof and Experimental Establishment at Chandipur for developmental trials. The tests were conducted by personnel of Armament Research & Development Establishment between 11:00 am and 12:00 pm IST on 31 January. The tests were conducted at a range of 30 km.
On 28 July 2013, successful firing trials of Pinaka Mk-II were conducted in the Chandan area of Pokhran Range, Rajasthan by DRDO and Army personnel. The rockets destroyed the targets in Keru area, 30 km from the point of launch.
On 7 August 2013, tests for two rounds of Pinaka Mk-II fired from the test range of PXE at Chandipur failed to provide desired results.
On 20 December 2013, six rounds of Pinaka Mk-II were successfully fired from the test range of PXE at Chandipur for developmental trials. This test, conducted by ARDE personnel, was reportedly conducted post a failed attempt to test the same variant four months back in August.
On 30 May 2014, three rounds of Pinaka Mk-II were successfully fired from the test range of PXE at Chandipur by ARDE. The rockets were launched at a range of 61 km against its then maximum range of 65 km.
On 20 May 2016, two rounds of Pinaka rockets were fired from the test range of PXE at Chandipur at 11:35 pm IST and 01:15 pm IST to validate a new technology in order to incorporate a new guidance system. The objective was to record data from the flights for further analysis which will be used for the future guided Pinaka. The tests were successful. On 23 May 2016, further two Pinaka rockets were successfully fired again from the same range.
On 12 and 24 January 2017, maiden successful trials of the Guided 'Pinaka was conducted in two phases at range of 65 km and 75 km, respectively, from Launch Complex-III, Integrated Test Range, Chandipur. The second trial was conducted at 12:45 pm IST.
On 30 May 2018, two rounds of tests of the Guided Pinaka were successfully conducted from the PXE at Chandipur.
On 11 and 12 March 2019, Guided Pinaka rockets were fired twice and once, respectively at the Pokhran Range, Rajasthan. All the trials were successful.
On 19 December 2019, a Guided Pinaka version rocket was tested at a range of 75 km.
On 20 December 2019, two Guided Pinaka variant rockets, with live warheads, were fired in salvo mode at an interval of 60 seconds at low range of 20 km at 11:00 am IST from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur. The proximity fuse initiation and accuracy at low ranges. A newer Pinaka variant was reported to be flight tested at a range of up to 90 km.
On 19 August 2020, Pinaka Mk I Enhanced variant rockets, manufactured by Economic Explosives Ltd. of Solar Group, were tested successfully from Pokhran Range, Rajasthan. This was the first time in India that a munition of this kind was manufactured and tested by a private sector company. On 20 August 2020, trials for Pinaka Guided was carried out for the first time.
On 4 November 2020, a series of 6 Pinaka Mk I Enhanced variant rockets, manufactured by Economic Explosives Ltd. of Solar Group, were tested successfully from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur. The variant is expected to replace the older Mark I variant in production. This time DRDO has decreased the size of the rockets compared to the older generation Mark I.
On 24 June 2021, DRDO successfully fired 25 Pinaka Mk I Enhanced variant at a range of 45 km in quick succession mode as part of saturation attack simulation. The rockets were manufactured by EEL. On 25 June 2021, DRDO successfully test fired 40 km range 122 mm calibre rocket which are made to replace the older BM-21 Grad rockets in the Indian Army.
December 2021 trials: A total of 24 rockets of multiple variants were fired at Pokhran Range.
* On 8 December 2021, Pinaka Mk-I Enhanced was successfully tested at a range of 45 km. The variant was manufactured by Economic Explosives Ltd. The User Assisted Technical Trial of Pinaka Mk-II produced by EEL was also completed the same day. Further user trials for Pinaka Mk-II variants produced by both EEL and YIL is to undergo user trials by March 2022.
* On 10 December 2021, Pinaka Area Denial Munition variant, equipped with Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition was tested. The tests included the rockets manufactured by both Economic Explosives Ltd and Yantra India Limited. While both the manufacturers claimed success of the trials, it was confirmed that for the YIL's variant 96.6% of the DPICM exploded surpassing benchmark set at 90%. During these tests, ARDE evaluated locally developed Direct-Action Self Destruction and Anti-Tank Munition fuses.
In April 2022, a total of 24 Enhanced Pinaka Rocket System along with Pinaka ADM were fired at Pokhran Range for different ranges. The rockets developed by Yantra India Limited-Munitions India Limited were flight tested during the trials.
In the last two weeks of August 2022, user trials of Pinaka Enhanced were conducted from both Pokhran Range and Integrated Test Range, Balasore. Rockets developed by both the manufacturers MIL and EEL successfully passed the trials.
On 14 November 2024, DRDO completed the final Flight Tests of Guided Pinaka Weapon Systems as part of Provisional Staff Qualitative Requirements Validation Trials. The tests were conducted in three phases in field firing ranges. The three parameters of PSQR, which are ranging, accuracy, consistency and rate of fire to engage multiple targets in salvo mode was assessed during the trials. A total of 12 rockets from each production agencies, Economic Explosives Ltd. and Munitions India Limited, were tested from two launchers that were upgraded by the launcher manufacturers, Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Larsen & Toubro.
It was reported on 5 August 2025, that the Pinaka Mk-I Enhanced variant rockets underwent its successful test firing before the commissioning and induction into the Indian Army.
The maiden flight test of LRGR-120', earlier referred to as Pinaka Mk 3 by reports, was conducted on 29 November 2025. The rocket struck the target at a maximum range of 120 km with textbook precision while performing all the in-flight maneuvers planned. The launch was conducted from an in-service launcher.