IIT Madras to create India's first 155mm smart ammunition

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) will manufacture India's first indigenous 155 smart ammunition. This step of IIT-M will be an important step towards achieving self-reliance in the Indian defense sector.

Partnership with Munitions India Limited:

• Indian Institute of Technology Madras has partnered with state-owned defense sector company Munitions India Limited to manufacture 155 smart ammunition.

Achieving better accuracy than 155 mm shells:

• Indian Institute of Technology Madras informed on 5 February 2024 that its aim is to develop better ammunition than the current 155 mm shells.
• This is to achieve self-reliance in the defense sector by developing ammunition with better accuracy than before and also to increase firepower.
• It will have a circular error probable (CEP) of only 10 meters. Whereas currently the CEP of indigenous ammunition is 500 meters. CEP, circular error probability or circle of equal probability, is a measure of the accuracy of a weapon system in the military science of ballistics.
• Munitions India is a manufacturer of ammunition and explosives for the armed and paramilitary forces.

Towards self-reliance in Indian defense sector:

• Professor G.Rajesh, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Madras and his team of researchers will develop the smart ammunition over a period of two years.
• Ravi Kant, Chairman and Managing Director, Munitions India, said, this will be a major achievement towards achieving the goal of self-reliant India.

About Munitions India Limited:

• Munitions India comes under the Ministry of Defence.
• It is India's largest manufacturer engaged in production, development, testing and marketing of a wide range of ammunition and explosives for all three military and paramilitary forces.

The main features of the products manufactured by it include:

• Smart ammunition to be launched from 39 and 45 caliber-155 mm artillery guns.
  • Fin-stabilized, canard-controlled, guided shell.
  • Maximum range is 38 km and minimum range is 8 km.
  • 3-Mode Fuze Operation – Point detonation.
  • Detonation height and delayed detonation.
  • Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) guided-GPS backup.
• The special purpose shell will have roll isolation strategies, canard actuation system, fuze, shell body and warhead as well as guidance, navigation and control systems.
• The smart projectile will have complex technologies and will use the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System for guidance.