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Company type | Public Sector Undertaking |
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Industry | Defence Production |
Predecessor | Ordnance Factory Board |
Founded | 1 October 2021 |
Headquarters | Ammunition Factory Khadki, , |
Key people | Debashish Banerjee, IOFS (Chairman & Managing Director) & (Director Operations) D Bannerjee, IOFS (Director Finance) |
Products | |
Owner | Government of India |
Divisions |
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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.
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]
Some notable products of Munitions India include: [5]
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]
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]
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]
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.
The FH70 is a towed howitzer used by several nations.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVANI) is an Indian state-owned defence company, headquartered in Avadi, Chennai established in 2021 as part of the restructuring and corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board into seven different Public Sector Undertakings. AVANI primarily manufactures Armoured fighting vehicles, Main battle tanks and their engines for the use of the Indian Armed Forces and foreign militaries. Products of AVANI include Arjun, T-90, BMP-2 Sarath, Vijayanta, Kartik BLT, M-46 Catapult and T-72 Ajeya battle tanks and stallion trucks.
Gliders India Limited (GIL) is an Indian state-owned defence company, headquartered at Ordnance Parachute Factory in Kanpur, India established in 2021 as part of the restructuring and corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board into seven different Public Sector Undertakings. GIL primarily manufactures military parachutes for the use of the Indian Armed Forces and foreign militaries and parachutes for aero-sport and emergency services.
Troop Comforts Limited (TCL) is an Indian state-owned defence company, headquartered in Kanpur, India established in 2021 as part of the restructuring and corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board into seven different Public Sector Undertakings. It is involved in the manufacture of life-cycle clothing, extreme cold climate clothing, mountaineering equipment, supply drop equipment, water storage equipment, tents and other products for the Indian Armed Forces and for civilian use.
Yantra India Limited is an Indian major state-owned defence production PSU, headquartered in Nagpur, India. Established in 2021 as part of the government’s restructuring and corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board into seven different Public Sector Undertakings - the company consists of eight defence manufacturing factory units indigenously catering to the needs of supplies, arms, explosives, artillery and munition for the Indian Armed Forces.
India Optel Limited is an Indian state-owned defence company, headquartered in Dehradun, India established in 2021 as part of the restructuring and corporatization of the Ordnance Factory Board into seven different Public Sector Undertakings. India Optel primarily manufactures Electro-optical sensors, weapon sights and communication equipment for the use of the Indian Armed Forces and foreign militaries.
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