The Army which has ordered 114 Dhanush artillery guns, and has one regiment operational already, is expecting to receive all the guns by 2026, according to defence sources. With focus on long-range and augmented firepower, the Army is also looking at vastly increasing the range of the Pinaka Multi-Rocket Launch Systems (MRLS) and the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) is working on it.

The Pralay surface-to-surface quasi-ballistic missile too is in advanced stages of induction, sources said.

“One regiment that was equipped with Dhanush was operationalised only last year. There has been slight delay due to some imported components, among others... All that has stabilised. By 2026, the Army should be getting balance regiments,” a defence source said.

Dhanush is a 155-mm, 45-calibre towed artillery gun with a range of 36 km, and it has demonstrated a range of 38 km with specialised ammunition. It is an upgrade of the existing 155-mm, 39-calibre Bofors FH 77 gun. The Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Ltd., carved after corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board, that is now manufacturing the Dhanush guns has a team on site and is working with the Army, sources stated.

The Army currently has four Pinaka regiments and six more on order. In addition to adding numbers, the Army is keen on extending its range as well the configurations available.

As reported by The Hindu earlier, the range of the original Pinaka rockets was 37 km which was enhanced to 45 km with the upgraded Mk-1, while the guided Pinaka has a range of 75 km which the Defence Acquisition Council has already cleared for procurement. A Pinaka Area Denial Munition rocket system has also been developed.

Pinaka with a range of 120 km is under development, DRDO officials had stated earlier.