BHUBANESWAR: Adding more teeth to its firepower, India on Monday conducted the maiden flight test of the Pinaka long range guided rocket (LRGR) from a test facility off the Odisha coast.

Defence sources said the rocket was tested by the Proof and Experimental Establishment (PXE) for its maximum range of 120 km, demonstrating all in-flight manoeuvres as coordinated. “The LRGR impacted on the target with textbook precision,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

The guided Pinaka has been developed by the Pune-based Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) in association with the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Hyderabad-based Research Centre Imarat (RCI) and Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL).

LRGR Pinaka, which evolved from Pinaka Mark-II, is equipped with a navigation, guidance and control kit. Significant modification in the system has facilitated enhancement of its strike range and considerably improved its accuracy.

The rocket was fired from a multi-barrel rocket launcher (MBRL). The rocket launcher can fire 12 rockets with high explosives and destroy a large area at a time. The quick reaction time and high rate of fire of the system will give an edge to the Army during a low-intensity conflict situation.

The mission objectives were successfully met during the trial. All the radars, electro optical and telemetry systems at Chandipur-based Integrated Test Range (ITR) tracked and monitored the weapon all through the flight path.