Armament Research and Development Establishment
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| Established | 1958 |
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| Director | Surendra Kumar |
| Location | Pune, Maharashtra |
| Address | Armament PO, Pashan, Pune-411 021 |
| Operating Agency | DRDO |
| Website | ARDE Home Page |
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Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE) is a laboratory of the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO). Located in Pune, it is the main DRDO lab involved in the development of Conventional Armaments.
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[edit] History
ARDE was established in 1958, with the goal of achieving self-sufficiency in the field of Armaments. ARDE started working from a rudimentary facility within the campus of Ammunition Factory, Khadki. Personnel were drawn from the erstwhile Technical Development Establishment (Weapons) located in Jabalpur and Technical Development Establishment (Ammunition) at Khadki.
In 1966, ARDE moved to its present location at Pashan, on the out-skirts of Pune, next to the National Chemical Laboratory, a major CSIR Laboratory.
[edit] Areas of work
ARDE's main area of research is in the design and development of Conventional Armaments for the Indian Armed Forces. This stretches over the whole gamut of research, development, prototyping, test and evaluation, and transfer of technology activities.[1] This includes basic and applied research, modeling, simulation and software development of armaments. Additionally, life extension and upgradation of in-Service equipment is also carried out.
Being a research laboratory, ARDE does not carry out large-scale production activities, except for limited scale pilot-plant production of crucial items. After an initial production, the technologies developed by it are transferred to manufacturing agencies like BEL, OFB and other manufacturers. In this capacity, ARDE supervises the Transfer of Technology to these plants, and aids in initial productionization and Quality Assurance of these products.
With the Indian Armed Forces using many weapons from foreign vendors, it is necessary to integrate them and make them compatible with other existing systems in service. ARDE is involved in advising the Services regarding induction and indigenisation of Weapon Systems of Foreign Origin.
[edit] Facilities
[edit] Projects and Products
[edit] Small Arms
[edit] 7.62x51 L1A1 Self Loading Rifle
One of the earlier ARDE developments was the 7.62 mm Ishapore Self-Loading Rifle (SLR) and its ammunition which replaced the Ishapore 2A1 bolt action rifles (based on the 0.303 Lee Enfield rifle) in Indian Army service then. Over a million rifles have been produced by the Ishapore Rifle Factory, and were used in the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistan Wars.[2]
[edit] INSAS 5.56 mm Small Arms Family
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Drawing heavily from its past experience with the 7.62mm SLR, ARDE developed the 5.56 mm Indian Small Arms System (INSAS). This helped standardize ammunition for infantry, reducing logistical problems. The infantry was earlier equipped with three types of small arms firing two types of ammunition, viz. 7.62 mm Ishapore SLR, LMG and 9 mm carbine. The INSAS family replaces all the three weapons, and consists of an Assault Rifle, a Light Machine Gun, and a Carbine Variant. The INSAS was introduced in 1998, and has since supplanted the SLR as the service rifle of the Indian Army.
[edit] Artillery and Tank guns
[edit] Pinaka Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher
Pinaka is a multiple rocket launcher developed by the DRDO for the Indian Army. Development began in 1983. The Army had felt the need for a weapon system which could neutralize targets at ranges exceeding 30 km. To meet this demand, Pinaka MBRLS was developed. The project was a major program involving several DRDO Labs, Public and Private Sector Firms. This was one of the first major projects involving the Private sector. L&T and Tata have been given orders worth Rs. 390 crores
The system comprises a free-flight artillery rocket with different types of warheads & fuzes, a multi-tube launcher vehicle, a replenishment-cum-loader vehicle, a replenishment vehicle and a command post vehicle. The system is capable of firing in salvo mode within 48 sec, neutralizing an area of 700 x 500 m. The Pinaka was successfully used in Kargil War against Fortified Pakistani Positions in the mountains. The Army has placed an order for 6 regiments, with one already operational.[citation needed]
[edit] Arjun MBT Tank gun
the Arjun uses a 120 mm Rifled gun developed and tested by ARDE.[3] The gun is one of the few rifled tank guns in modern tanks (the Challenger 2 Tank also uses a rifled gun). It is capable of firing rounds at velocities over 1650 m/s, and can sustain pressures of up to 612 MPa.
ARDE has also developed the Ammunition system for the gun, with FSAPDS being the primary kinetic energy round used. The Arjun can also use HEAT, HESH and other rounds, as well as being able to fire the LAHAT Anti-tank missile The armament and ammunition system are under current production at OFB.
[edit] Ammunition and Bombs
[edit] References
- ^ ARDE Areas of Work
- ^ ARDE Products and Technologies
- ^ (February 2002) "120 Millimetre MBT Arjun Armament System" in DRDO Technology Focus Volume 10 (1), article number 1. Retrieved on 2007-11-06 . (DRDO webpage with technical Details of the Arjun Tank Gun).
[edit] External links
- ARDE Home Page
- Pinaka MBRL System on GlobalSecurity.org.
- "ARDE develops hi-tech system for LCA", Indian Express, Sep 17, 1998. Retrieved on 2007-11-05.
- "ARDE on futuristic course, charts expansion", Indian Express, Dec 25, 1998. Retrieved on 2007-11-05.
[edit] See also
- Pinaka Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher
- INSAS 5.56 mm Assault Rifle
