India on Wednesday conducted a successful flight test of Pinaka Long Range Guided Rocket (LRGR) at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur in Odisha, officials said.
The rocket was tested for a user-defined minimum range of 60 km, they said.
“The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted a successful flight-test of Pinaka Long Range Guided Rocket (LRGR) at the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur on July 8,” the defence ministry said.
Demonstrating all in-flight manoeuvres as planned, the LRGR impacted on the target with “textbook precision” exactly following the predicted trajectory. All the deployed range instruments tracked the flight throughout its trajectory, the officials said.
The Pinaka LRGR rocket is designed by Armament Research and Development Establishment in association with High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, with support from Defence Research and Development Laboratory and Research Centre Imarat.
“The flight trial was coordinated by ITR and Proof & Experimental Establishment. The rocket was launched from the in-service Pinaka launcher demonstrating its versatility and providing launch capability of Pinaka variants of different ranges from the same launcher,” the ministry said in a statement.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO, the Indian Army and the industry on the successful flight test.
He described it as a “major milestone” in indigenous design and development capability for long-range guided rockets.
Defence Secretary and Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO, Rajesh Kumar Singh, had closely monitored the trials and complimented all the teams associated with the successful test, the ministry said.
