Pinaka: From Army orders to exports

At a Nagpur manufacturing facility on 18 January 2026, Rajnath Singh flagged off a consignment of guided Pinaka rockets for Armenia. The defence ministry identified it as the first tranche of that guided export. A weapon developed for India’s artillery had acquired another destination, and an Indian factory was supplying the ammunition. [5]

The dispatch marked a new stage in an older programme. Pinaka was already part of the Army’s modernisation before Narendra Modi took office: a January 2007 defence ministry account recorded the Army chief discussing its induction. The later government’s contribution lay in further procurement, development and export support, building on work by DRDO, the Army and manufacturing partners across administrations. [1] [2] [5]

Orders for a larger artillery force

On 31 August 2020, the defence ministry signed contracts worth approximately ₹2,580 crore for six Pinaka regiments. Tata Power and Larsen & Toubro were to supply 114 launchers and 45 command posts; BEML was to supply 330 vehicles. The ministry described the procurement as having 70% indigenous content. [2]

The numbers showed the industrial work surrounding a rocket launcher: command equipment, vehicles and the means to operate a larger force. The announcement planned to complete induction by 2024. It established an order and a timetable, rather than certifying that every item had reached the Army by that date. [2]

Ammunition followed as a separate commitment. In February 2025, the ministry announced ₹10,147 crore in contracts with Economic Explosives Limited and Munitions India Limited for area-denial and enhanced high-explosive pre-fragmented rockets. It also signed a software-upgrade contract with Bharat Electronics. The orders supported the existing system; they were not a delivery count for every subsequent Pinaka variant. [4]

Guidance, range and an overseas customer

The programme’s technical development continued alongside procurement. In November 2024, DRDO reported completing three phases of guided Pinaka validation trials. Tests assessed range, accuracy, consistency and salvo firing. The account credited the Armament Research and Development Establishment and partner laboratories, with public and private companies supplying ammunition, launchers and command posts. [3]

A further version, LRGR 120, underwent its maiden flight test at Chandipur on 29 December 2025. The ministry reported a 120-kilometre test from an in-service Pinaka launcher. That was a development milestone; it did not mean that every Army launcher already possessed operational 120-kilometre ammunition, or that this was the version dispatched to Armenia. [6]

The Armenian consignment supplied firmer evidence of an export step than expressions of foreign interest. Even so, the January announcement did not disclose its quantity or establish completion of an entire contract. Flagging off ammunition also could not establish its performance after receipt. [5]

Pinaka’s later history thus ran along several production lines: equipment for Indian regiments, new ammunition, guided-rocket testing and an overseas shipment. The Nagpur dispatch placed one part of that work on a route beyond the Indian Army, while the programme continued to develop at home.