S. Vishnu Sharma
IIT Madras is partnering with Munitions India Limited to develop India’s first indigenously-designed 155 Smart Ammunition.
This initiative will help achieve indigenization in a critical defence sector.
Munitions India Limited is a defence public sector enterprise.
Objective
The objective is to increase the accuracy of 155 mm shell within a Circular Error Probable (CEP) of 10 metres, say sources from IIT Madras.
At present, ammunitions developed in India have a CEP of 500 m. Another key goal is to increase the lethality at the terminal impact point.
Ministry of Defence
Munitions India Limited comes under the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, and is India’s biggest manufacturer and market leader engaged in the Production.
It is also into Testing Research and Development and Marketing of a comprehensive range of ammunition and explosives for the Army, Navy, Air force and Paramilitary Forces.
Development
Prof. G. Rajesh, Faculty, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Madras, and his team of researchers will be developing the smart ammunition, which has a duration of two years.
Key aspects
Ravi Kant, IOFS, Chairman and Managing Director, Munitions India Limited elaborated on the key aspects of this project.
He said Munitions India Limited (MIL), which has carved a niche for itself in global defence manufacturing and supplies within two years of its formation, is excited to join hands with IIT Madras in development of this world-class ammunition.
He further said this will be a giant leap forward for the country in achieving its goal of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
‘We are confident that the might of MIL in conventional ammunition manufacturing and the brain of IIT Madras in developing a guidance system will pave the way for MIL’s foray into modern ammunition manufacturing with Niche Technologies.’
Project
Prof. G. Rajesh, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Madras spoke about this project.
He said the Special Purpose Shell will house the guidance, navigation and control system along with roll isolation strategies, canard actuation system, fuze, shell body and warhead.
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The smart projectile will have complex technologies such as miniaturized electronics/sensors and mechanical structures, said Prof Rajesh of IIT Madras.
The proposed smart projectile will use the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) for guidance. This means independence from foreign governments’ satellite systems, he said.
Key Characteristics
The key Characteristics and components of the 155mm Indian Smart Ammunition will include:
Ø Smart ammunition to be launched from 39 and 45 calibre -155 mm Artillery Guns without any changes in the gun system.
Ø This is a fin-stabilized, canard-controlled, guided shell.
Ø Maximum range is 38 km – Minimum range is 8 km
Ø 3-mode fuse operation – Point detonation, Height of Burst, Delayed Detonation
Ø Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) Guided- GPS Back-up.
(NAVIC is the primary guidance system which will make the guided ammunition completely independent of any foreign agency involvement)
About IIT Madras
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) was established in 1959 by the Government of India as an ‘Institute of National Importance.’
The activities of the Institute in various fields of Science and Technology are carried out in 17 academic departments and several advanced interdisciplinary research academic centres.
The Institute offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes leading to B.Tech., M.Sc., M.B.A., M.Tech., M.S., and Ph.D., degrees in a variety of specialisations.
IIT Madras is a residential institute with more than 600 faculty and 9,500 students. Students from 18 countries are enrolled here.
IITM fosters an active entrepreneurial culture with strong curricular support and through the IITM Incubation Cell.
Recognized as an Institution of Eminence (IoE) in 2019, IITM has been ranked No.1 in the ‘Overall’ Category for the fifth consecutive year in India Ranking 2023 released by National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India.
The Institute has also been ranked No.1 in the ‘Engineering Institutions’ category in the same Rankings for eight consecutive years – from 2016 to 2023.
It was also adjudged as the ‘Top innovative Institution’ in the country in Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
ARIIA Ranking was launched by the Innovation Cell of Ministry of Education.