This is the first time in the Indian defence ecosystem that an order for hand grenades is being given. To date, the Indian Army has been using the British-era vintage hand grenades, which will be replaced by the first consignment of 40,000 Multi-Mode Hand Grenades
Bengaluru: Nagpur-based private company Economic Explosives Limited has been awarded a Rs 400 crore contract to deliver the first consignment of high-quality grenades to the Indian Army.
This is the first time in the Indian defence ecosystem that an order for hand grenades is being given. To date, the Indian Army has been using the British-era vintage hand grenades, which will be replaced by the first consignment of 40,000 Multi-Mode Hand Grenades.
The subsidiary of Solar Industries India Limited will manufacture 10 lakh grenades for the Indian Army.
The new advanced multi-mode grenade has been designed jointly by the Economic Explosives Limited along with Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
The grenade offers multiple advantages to soldiers in terms of safety and penetration attack as compared to the vintage hand grenades.
The advanced grenade operates on a dual-mode. In the offensive mode, the grenade does not have a fragment sleeve and is used for a low-intensity attack as it offers stunning effects. This mode is used when the soldier targets the attack within five meters from the point of burst.
In the defensive mode, the grenade is assembled with its fragmenting sleeve. This grenade mode is used when the soldier is in the shelter, and the enemy is in the open area. Its lethal radius has a capacity to target eight meters from the point of burst.
The grenade comes with twin delay tubes to ensure high reliability. The new advanced multi-mode grenade has a minimum 0.5-second arming delay for the safety of soldiers.
For a deep penetration attack, the grenade has 3,800 unique fragmentation patterns.
Impressed by the safety and lethality of MMH grenades, Indonesia and other foreign countries have evinced interest in buying the grenades from Solar Industries.
Indonesia has already placed an order after the Indian government gave in-principle approval to the Economic Explosives Limited to supply the grenades to Indonesia.
Indian government's bold decision to open up the ammunition manufacturing sector for private agencies is paying rich dividends as until a decade ago, ammunition manufacturing was in the sole domain of government agencies, and it was beyond the imagination that the private sector could foray into this field.
Article courtesy: Prasar Bharati News Service
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