NEW DELHI: Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Thursday said it has been awarded a supply order by the army’s Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) for the overhaul, upgrade and obsolescence management of the locally-made Pinaka multi-rocket launcher systems (MLRS).
“This unique partnership between a domestic private OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and the Indian Army, for sustenance of frontline artillery systems, is a significant step for product lifecycle support of Made-in-India, in-service artillery systems,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.
The development comes two days after the army awarded a similar supply order to Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) to overhaul and upgrade the Pinaka weapon system. The partnership with the Corps of EME aims to enhance long-term operational availability and modernisation of Pinaka regiments currently in service with the army, L&T said. The programme will focus on managing outdated components, upgrading critical sub-systems and providing sustained technical support to the Army Base Workshops.
“This affiliation shall also re-enforce the public-private-partnership model in defence sustenance and lifecycle support for frontline artillery systems. Under this initiative, 510 Army Base Workshop (ABW) EME will undertake overhaul and upgrade of critical electronics and systems…L&T, as the OEM, shall supply critical spares and support the modernisation of subsystems, enabling a shift from conventional maintenance practices to a structured, lifecycle-based sustenance and upgrade framework,” the firm said.
This model is expected to serve as a blueprint for similar lifecycle management and upgrade programmes across other defence platforms, strengthening India’s self- reliant and future-ready defence ecosystem, it added.
The Pinaka rocket system was developed by Armament Research and Development Establishment, Pune, supported by High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, another Pune-based laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
