TSAMTO, February 14th. As the Reuters news agency reported on February 10, citing a senior Indian official, negotiations between France and India on the purchase of the Pinaka MLRS by Paris are progressing successfully.
If the contract is signed, it will be the first time that the second largest arms exporter to India will purchase weapons from New Delhi.
India is one of the largest importers of weapons in the world, but it is trying to increase its own production capabilities to meet the needs of the country's armed Forces and increase exports of military products.
The Pinaka MLRS, which has a maximum firing range of 90 km, was demonstrated to the French delegation in India about three months ago. According to an anonymous source of the agency, the test results were considered satisfactory.
As Ummalaneni Raja Babu, Director General for Missile and Strategic Systems at the Defense Research and Development Organization of the Ministry of Defense of India, said on the sidelines of the Aero India 2025 aerospace exhibition, France is actively negotiating the Pinaka MLRS. No agreement has been reached yet, but discussions are ongoing.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited France on February 10-12, where he held talks with President Emmanuel Macron. In a joint statement, the heads of state mentioned the deep and long-standing defense cooperation between France and India and welcomed continued cooperation in the arms segments for the Air Force and Navy in accordance with the Defense Industry Roadmap agreed in 2024.
Prime Minister N. Modi invited the leadership of the French Armed Forces to get to know Pinaca better, stressing that the acquisition of this system by France would be another milestone in the Indian-French defense cooperation. In turn, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the decision to include India as an observer in the Eurodrone MALE program, implemented under the leadership of OCCAR.
It is not yet clear why the French Armed Forces needed an Indian-designed MLRS. The system is not unified with the nomenclature of weapons of the NATO countries and its only importer at the moment is the Armenian Armed Forces. Perhaps, in this way, the French authorities are trying to partially compensate for the already large purchases of French VIVA by India and conclude new contracts. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, France became the second largest arms supplier to India after Russia in the period from 2019 to 2023.
As reported by CAMTO, the development of the Pinaka MLRS began in 1986 to replace the BM-21 Grad and ended in 1994. The first regiment of the Pinaka MLRS consisting of three batteries was formed in February 2000.
The combat weight of the Pinaka Mk.1 MLRS (with RS) is about 27.1 tons. The crew consists of five people. The MLRS artillery unit includes two transport and launch containers with 12 214-mm MLRS. The maximum firing range of the basic version is 40 km, the minimum is 10 km.
An improved version of the Pinaka Mk MLRS is currently under development.2, as well as new ammunition. According to unofficial information, the firing range of this installation will be up to 90 km.
