Lessons from Ukraine war: Army outlines long range rockets, diversified vendor base for ammunition

A view of Pinaka Multiple Launcher Rocket System is seen during the 75th Republic Day parade celebrations, in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Building on the lessons from the Ukraine war and the offensive in Gaza by Israel, Indian Army is going for extended range rockets, which have proven to be decisive, and indigenising and diversifying vendor base, especially, for 155mm artillery shells to build resilient supply chains as well as going for futuristic ammunition, a senior officer outlined.

The indigenous Pinaka Multi-BarrelRocket Launch (MRLS) system is being widely exploited and their ability is second to none, Lt Gen Adosh Kumar, Director General of the Regiment of Artillery said speaking to media ahead of the Regiment’s 198th raising day on Saturday (September 28, 2024). “We are looking at extending range of the Pinaka rockets and lot of work is going on, first to double and then to almost four times of the present range. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is confident of achieving it.”

A view of the Nirbhay cruise missile.
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu

Last year, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved procurement of the Pralay tactical ballistic missiles with a range of 400km and Nirbhay sub-sonic cruise missiles with a range of 1000km, both of which will give a long range strike option for the Indian military. Development trails of Pralay are almost over, the General officer said. Nirbhay the trials are on and in April it was tested with an indigenous engine. It is expected to be given to the Army for trails next year.

The other aspect is Pinaka can fire a variety of ammunition and that is where its efficacy in the battlefield comes in, the officer noted. “Trials are currently on for guided extended range Pinaka rockets. High altitude are already done, trials in the plains are scheduled next month. If the trails are successful, we hope to conclude the deal soon and that will double present range of Pinaka. And they are also guided which means their precision will automatically improve.”

As reported earlier, the guided ER rockets will take the range of Pinaka to 75kms and beyond. The HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), that the US has supplied to Ukraine, and similar systems also use guided rockets, officials observed. For artillery guns, the Army has already drawn a roadmap to convert all its guns to 155mm standard.

U.S. Army prepares the crane for loading the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) on to the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS)
| Photo Credit:
AP

Another ammunition is the High Explosive Pre-Fragmented rockets for Pinaka which will increase range by 15-20%. The trails are over, and the contract is expected to be signed this fiscal, Lt Gen Kumar noted. Area Denial Munition (ADM) system which can be anti-tank and anti-personnel is also under development. Trials of one of the types is over and contract is expected to be signed this fiscal, while For other types, work is on and DRDO has identified production partners, the officer said. The ADM rocket system was successfully flight-tested by DRDO and Army first in April 2022.

The war in Ukraine is in its 3rd year and has shattered perception that wars will be short and swift, Lt Gen Kumar said. Reports suggest thatRussia is almost firing 10,000 to 15,000 155mm shells per day while Ukraine is firing around 4000 shells per day and 80% of the casualties have been due to artillery. Reports have also said that, the annual production capability of Russia to produce 155mm shells is 42 lakh a year. That is more three time the U.S. and west combined can produce, the General officer noted. The U.S. and countries across Europe are now significantly ramping up production.

In the backdrop of shortage of shells by Ukraine, there have been reports of diversion of ammunition supplied by India to third countries to Ukraine.

To a question from The Hindu, on the efforts to build resilient supply chains, Lt Gen Kumar said, “Weare laying lot of emphasis on expanding our vendor base. Earlier, the dependency for 155mm ammunition was on one production agency… 155mm is our future. All types of 155mm ammunition has been thrown open for private sector.” The response has been good, he said adding that in October-November trials from various Private and public companies are going to be carried out.

The 155mm shells also have Bi-modular charge systems for which Indian industry has been invited. Similarly, for fuses in the shells, last December a contract was concluded for 50 lakh fuses, which is five lakh per year for the next 10 years.

The Army has four Pinaka regiments in service and six more are on order. Among other MRLS, the Army has five Grad rocket regiments and three Smerch regiments both of Russian-origin. Smerch is the longest range rocket system in the Army’s inventory with a range of 90 kms. However, Pinaka is the mainstay and also the future of the Army’s MRLS. The Army also has the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system with a range of 300 km and the extended range BrahMos with a range of over 400 kms, its longest strike option.