IIT Madras to develop smart ammunition

Indian Institute of Technology Madras collaborates with Munitions India to develop 155 mm smart ammunition with improved accuracy and range.

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras has collaborated with Munitions India, a defence public sector enterprise, to develop 155 mm smart ammunition.  The aim is to ensure the ammunition has 50% better accuracy than existing shells and improved range. 

The shells will have a circular error probable (CEP) of 10 metres. The ammunitions developed currently in India have a CEP of 500 m. It is also envisaged to increase the lethality at the terminal impact point. Munitions India, under the Ministry of Defence, is the country’s biggest manufacturer and is engaged in not only production but also testing research, development and marketing a range of ammunition for the military and paramilitary forces. 

G. Ramesh, faculty in the Aerospace Engineering department, and his team will develop the ammunition in two years. 

Ravi Kant, chairman of Munitions India, said the collaboration would pave way for MIL’s foray into modern ammunition manufacturing with niche technologies. 

Some of the key characteristics of the smart ammunition are that it will be launched from 39 and 45 calibre-155 mm artillery guns without any changes in the gun system. The fin-stabilised, canard-controlled guided shell has a maximum range of 38 km and a minimum range of 8 km. It comes with a 3-mode fuse operation – point detonation; height of burst; delayed detonation.

It will have the Indian regional navigation satellite system (IRNSS)-guided GPS back-up (NAVIC is the primary guidance system that will make the guided ammunition completely independent of any foreign agency involvement), a release from the institute said.