Munitions India

Last updated

Munitions India Limited
Company type Public Sector Undertaking
IndustryDefence Production
Predecessor Ordnance Factory Board
Founded1 October 2021 (2021-10-01)
HeadquartersAmmunition Factory Khadki, ,
Key people
Debashish Banerjee, IOFS
(Chairman & Managing Director) & (Director Operations)

D Bannerjee, IOFS
(Director HR)

Prakash Agarwala, IOFS
(Director Finance)
Products
Owner Government of India
Divisions
  • Ammunition Factory Khadki
  • Cordite Factory Aruvankadu
  • High Energy Projectile Factory Tiruchirapalli
  • High Explosive Factory Khadki
  • Ordnance Factory Bhandara
  • Ordnance Factory Bolangir
  • Ordnance Factory Chanda Chandrapur
  • Ordnance Factory Dehu Road
  • Ordnance Factory Itarsi
  • Ordnance Factory Khamaria
  • Ordnance Factory Nalanda
  • Ordnance Factory Varangaon
Website https://munitionsindia.in

Munitions India Limited (MIL) is an Indian state-owned defence company, headquartered in Pune, India, established in 2021 as part of the restructuring and corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board into seven different Public Sector Undertakings. [1] [2] [3] Munitions India primarily manufactures ammunition, explosives, rockets and bombs for the use of the Indian Armed Forces, foreign militaries and domestic civilian use.

Contents

The budget allocated for MIL has seen increase in 2020s. The defence PSU was allocated a budget of Rs 577 crore in FY2023, Rs. 580 crore in FY2024 (RE) and Rs 745.45 crore in FY2025, highest among the seven defence PSUs. This is a part of infrastructure modernisation plan and in order to increase the war reserves of the Indian Armed Forces to sustain long-drawn wars. The sum is to be invested in modernising equipment, increasing production capacity and including new manufacturing lines for ammunition of 30mm and 40mm grenade launchers. [4]

Products

Some notable products of Munitions India include: [5]

Under Development

Ramjet Propelled Artillery Shell

IIT Madras along with IIT Kanpur, Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) and Research Centre Imarat (RCI) are working on redesigning an existing 155 mm shell using ramjet propulsion that can cover 60 km+ range. It will be made compatible with Haubits FH77, Dhanush, K9 Vajra-T and DRDO ATAGS. The shell will use precision guidance kit for trajectory correction. IIT Madras will ensure that Munitions India can manufacture the shells. [7]

155 mm Smart Artillery Shell

Together with Munitions India Limited, IIT Madras is developing the first 155 mm Smart Ammunition in India. The goal of this partnership is to improve artillery shell accuracy and lethality at the time of terminal impact. The munitions can be launched from 39- and 45-calibre 155 mm guns. Achieving a Circular Error Probability (CEP) of 10 meters is the ultimate objective, against 500 meters CEP achieved by conventional ammunitions. This entails housing cutting-edge technologies such as miniature electronics and sensors with guidance, navigation, and control systems. The 155 mm Smart Ammunition shells will also utilize NavIC satellite guidance to increase accuracy. In order to meet different tactical needs, the 155 mm Smart Ammunition is made to work with current artillery guns and has sophisticated characteristics including fin stabilization, canard control, and a three-mode fuse operation. [8] A minimum range of 8 km and a maximum range of 38 km are anticipated. In addition, this Smart shell has three different explosion modes: delayed, height of burst, and point detonation. [9] [10]

Exports

The UAE purchased 40,000 and 50,000 155 mm artillery ammunition in 2017 and 2019, respectively. In 2017 and 2019, the order was valued at approximately $40 million and $46 million, respectively. The known buyers of 155 mm shells have been the United Arab Emirates and Armenia. Unidentified European nation—likely Poland or Slovenia—just bought the artillery munitions, as per reports in February 2024. [11] [12]

Videos from Ukraine have recently surfaced, showing the artillery ammunition manufactured in India being used by Ukrainian forces in Russo-Ukrainian War. Social media posts in both Russian and Ukrainian languages reported what seemed to be Indian 155mm artillery shells likely falling into Ukraine. It was rumored that the weaponry consisted of MIL-produced HE ERFB BT shells. [11] [13]

MIL and its partner, Nadrah Company, inked a $225 million deal at World Defense Show 2024 to provide artillery ammunition to Saudi Arabia. [14]

As of March 2024, Munitions India has export orders worth ₹6,000 crore, to be supplied till 2026-27. The leading customers are UAE, Vietnam and one undisclosed country from Europe. [15]

In FY 2023-24, about Rs. 2,000 crores (i.e. 28.5%) of contracts of MIL was from export orders. The total business for the same time period was of Rs. 7,000 crore by value. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M777 howitzer</span> British/American 155 mm towed artillery

The M777 howitzer is a British towed 155 mm artillery piece in the howitzer class. It is used by the ground forces of Australia, Canada, Colombia, India, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and the United States. It was first used in combat during the War in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FH70</span> British/German/Italian 155 mm towed howitzer

The FH70 is a towed howitzer used by several nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dual-purpose improved conventional munition</span> Artillery warhead

A dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) is an artillery or surface-to-surface missile warhead designed to burst into submunitions at an optimum altitude and distance from the desired target for dense area coverage. The submunitions use both shaped charges for the anti-armor role, and fragmentation for the antipersonnel role, hence the nomenclature "dual-purpose". Some submunitions may be designed for delayed reaction or mobility denial (mines). The air-to-surface variety of this kind of munition is better known as a cluster bomb. They are banned by more than 100 countries under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haubits FH77</span> Swedish 155 mm towed howitzer

Fälthaubits 77 or FH77 is a Swedish 155 mm howitzer, developed and manufactured by Bofors. It is also colloquially known as the Bofors gun in India. There were several versions, the original with a 38 calibre barrel and sliding block mechanism, the export version FH77 B version with a 39 calibre barrel and an interrupted ogival screw breech. For the demonstrator of the Archer Artillery System, some FH77A were modified into FH 77 AD L/45, while the series production were FH77Bs rebuilt into FH77 BW L/52. The carriage was also used for the KARIN, used in the Swedish coastal artillery.

The Directorate of Ordnance is an authority under the Department of Defence Production (DDP) of Ministry of Defence (MoD), Government of India.. It's primary work is to managment, give instructions and make coordination of government Ordance production public companies. It is the main regulatory body of Indian Ordnance and its administration civil service, Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS). The DOO(C&S) earlier known as Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), consisting of the Indian Ordnance Factories. In 2021, Government having corporatise the functions of the 41 Indian Ordnance Factories into 7 Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), the Government is merging them again in 2024, as the output of one factory serves as the input of the other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M1156 Precision Guidance Kit</span> U.S. Army smart munitions system

The M1156 Precision Guidance Kit (PGK), formerly XM1156, is a U.S. Army-designed precision guidance system to turn existing 155 mm artillery shells into smart weapons. The prime contractor was Alliant Techsystems – later merging with Orbital Sciences Corporation to form Orbital ATK, in turn being taken over by Northrop Grumman and renamed Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems – and the industry team includes Interstate Electronics Corporation. By April 2018, more than 25,000 PGKs had been produced.

The M104 155 mm projectile is a chemical artillery shell designed for use by the U.S. Army. It was specifically designed to carry about 11.7 pounds (5.3 kg) of sulfur mustard (H) or (HD) blister agent. As early as the 1960s, the shell was also filled with white phosphorus to be used for obscuration and signaling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">155 mm caliber</span> Common type of artillery calibre

155 mm is a NATO-standard artillery shell caliber that is used in many field guns, howitzers, and gun-howitzers. It is defined in AOP-29 part 1 with reference to STANAG 4425.

The SMArt 155 is a German 155 mm artillery round designed for a long-range, indirect fire top-attack role against armoured vehicles. The projectile was developed in 1989 by Diehl BGT Defence in Überlingen, Germany, with Rheinmetall and started full-rate production for the German Army in 1998. It consists of a 47-kilogram (104 lb) heavy artillery projectile containing two autonomous, sensor-fused, "fire-and-forget" submunitions. Due to the submunitions, it has been considered by some to be a cluster munition. As of 2008, representatives of the German defense ministry have referred to it as not being classified as submunition weapons, which were prohibited by the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advanced towed artillery gun system</span> Indian 155 mm howitzer

The advanced towed artillery gun system (ATAGS) is a towed 155 mm/52 calibre howitzer that is being developed for the Indian Army by Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Tata Advanced Systems and Kalyani Strategic Systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bofors/Nexter Bonus</span> Swedish/French 155 mm artillery cluster round

The BONUS or ACED is a 155 mm artillery cluster round co-developed and manufactured by Bofors of Sweden and Nexter of France. It was designed to fulfill a long range, indirect fire, top attack requirement against armoured fighting vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dhanush (howitzer)</span> Howitzer

Dhanush (bow) is a 155 mm towed howitzer manufactured by Advanced Weapons and Equipment India at Gun Carriage Factory Jabalpur, previously a part of Ordnance Factory Board. The gun was approved for service in 2019 and has been inducted into the Indian Army. The Dhanush project was started by OFB to replace the older 105 mm Indian Field Gun, 105 mm Light Field Gun and the Russian 122 mm guns with a modern 155 mm artillery gun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Defence industry of India</span>

The defence industry sector of India is a strategically important sector in India. India has one of the world's largest military forces with a strength of over 1.44 million active personnel. The country has the world's largest volunteer military of over 5.1 million personnel. The total budget sanctioned for the Indian military for the financial year 2021 is 4.78 lakh crore. It has the third largest annual defence budget behind USA and China. It is the second largest defence importer behind Saudi Arabia making up 9.2% of global arms import. India has a domestic defence industry of which 60% is government owned. The public sector includes NTRO, CSIR, PRL, DRDO and its 50 labs, 4 defence shipyards, 12 defence public sector undertakings (PSUs). India has a new defence procurement, acquisition and manufacturing policy to reduce imports and enhance domestic manufacturing.

The Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan is a procurement and development plan of the Indian Army. The programme was drafted in 1999 in the aftermath of the Kargil war, emboldened by the success of the 155 mm Bofors guns in its inventory. The programme was slated to replace the weapons of 169 artillery regiments with modern weapon systems, predominantly of 155mm calibre. The procurement involves direct import, manufacture under license, as well as inhouse development of artillery weapon systems.

Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWE) is an Indian defence Public Sector Undertaking, headquartered in Kanpur, India. AWE primarily manufactures Small arms and artillery guns for the use of the Indian Armed Forces, foreign militaries and domestic civilian use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armoured Vehicles Nigam</span> Indian military vehicle manufacturer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yantra India</span> Indian weapons production company

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">India Optel</span> Indian weapons production company

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References

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  3. Pubby, Manu (12 October 2021). "Modi to launch seven new PSUs this week, Defence Ministry approves Rs 65,000-crore orders". The Economic Times. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  4. 1 2 Singh, Dalip (25 July 2024). "Govt's capital infusion into MIL a sign for scaling-up explosive manufacturing capabilities to meet long-drawn war challenges". The Hindu Businessline. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  5. "Products « MIL". munitionsindia.in. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  6. "Aero India 2023: Munitions India to start mass producing 1,000 lb thermobaric bombs". Janes.com. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  7. MP, Sidharth (21 February 2020). "IIT-M working on next-gen Ramjet-powered 155mm artillery shells for Indian Army". WION. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  8. "IIT Madras to spearhead development of India's first Indigenous 155mm Smart Ammunition". The Economic Times. 6 February 2024. ISSN   0013-0389 . Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  9. MP, Sidharth (5 February 2024). "IIT-M and Munitions India to develop smart ammo for 155mm artillery guns". WION. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  10. Bureau, The Hindu (5 February 2024). "IIT Madras to develop smart ammunition". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 20 March 2024.{{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  11. 1 2 "Munitions India Bags Largest Export Order From Saudi Arabia; To Supply 155MM Artillery Shells Worth $225M". The EurAsian Times. 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  12. Pubby, Manu (3 August 2019). "In its largest ever export order, OFB to supply 50,000 Bofors shells to UAE". The Economic Times. ISSN   0013-0389 . Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  13. Chaudhury, Dipanjan Roy (5 January 2024). "Russia flags supply of India-made 155mm artillery shells to Ukraine". The Economic Times. ISSN   0013-0389 . Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  14. "MIL inks $225-million ammunition contract with Saudi Arabia government". BusinessLine. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
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