PINAKA : A COLONEL IS HEADING A SQUAD

Pinaka is India's fully indigenous multi barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) or multi launch rocket system (MLRS). At present a single Pinaka battery can neutralize an area of 1 sq km at a range of 40-100 km depending upon the version of Pinaka.

A Pinaka battery, presently is made up of 2 command posts, 6 rocket launchers and a DIGICORA MET radar. The rocket launchers are mounted on 6 different BEML trucks, with each carrying 12 Pinaka rockets. Also loading vehicles are provided for each launcher. The whole battery can fire a single salvo in 44 seconds. So it can protect a boundary of 1 km and destroy the enemy behind it. 

Now a regiment of Pinaka consists of 3 such batteries so in total 6 command posts are part of it. This is an overkill as the ratio of launchers to command posts is just (6*3)/6 = 3. This is not a productive usage of our radar equipment. This means a regiment can attack just 3 km of boundary of enemy with a depth of 1 km of enemy resources.

Recently an order of Rs 5,000 crore has been put for 6 regiments. This results in acquisition of 114 launchers and 45 command posts. This unusually top heavy deployment can barely cause damage to 114/6 = 18 km of enemy boundary. With 15,200 km of land border this arrangement is sheer wastage of tax payers money.

To be effective enough, to cause dent to enemy firepower and its deployed forces, this deployment should cause damage to at least 2-5 times of enemy boundary.

One regiment comes to around 5000/6 = Rs 833 crore. The regiment will have 3 batteries with 2 command posts each (managing 6 launchers in each battery). If we take cost of command post and radar to be 2/3 of it then just by reducing the number of command posts and putting that money to acquire more launchers the firepower can be multiplied greatly.

Calculations:

1. One battery cost = 833/3 = 278 crores.

1. One command post cost = (278*2/3)/2 = 92.6 crore. [Assuming  2/3rd of battery cost for two command posts]

2. One launcher cost = 15.4 crore (278/6/3)

If we deploy just 2 command posts per regiment, then 18 launchers can be managed by them. The ratio of launchers to command posts becomes 18/2 = 9, instead of the earlier ratio of just 3. 

Similarly if Pinaka is deployed at Brigade level then the ratio can be increased further above 10. e.g. 5 command posts handling 75 launchers. So instead of 6 radars managing the 72 launchers, in the present configuration, there can be only 2 radars. [PROVIDED A RADAR CAN MANAGE 25+ LAUNCHERS] This brings the ratio of launchers to command posts to 15. This will reduce the cost of deployment from Rs 833 *  4 = 3600 crore for a brigade of 4 regiments to just (15.4*75 + 92.6*5) = Rs 1,620 crore. So the deployment cost can be reduced to half of the present one.

In fact, 150 launchers can be managed  by 10 command posts with redundancy of more than 2 built-in. So 5 command posts can manage 150 launchers deployed against the boundary of 25 km. The cost of that will be just 150*15.4 + 5*92.6 = 2778 crores. So with less than Rs 3,000 crore the firepower of 150 launchers i.e. 1800 rockets can be achieved.

With the budget of Rs 5,000 crore then approximately 25*5000/2778 = 45 km of enemy boundary can be attacked. This is an operational gain of 45/18 = 3.5 times.

This can be deployed as part of a division or a combination of brigades at LoC or LAC.

These changes in Pinaka MLRS will require a few tweaks in the configuration and software of command posts and radars. The material and production changes should be minimal or non-existent, depending upon how many launchers can be tracked by a radar.

If Pinaka has to be operated in the present set up only then its cost of operation is likely to be  same as  using a conventional missile at a distance of 100-200 km. Also the diplomatic narrative will be easier in any kind of conflict where launching a single missile against dozens of Pinaka rockets will be evaluated. Here one Pinaka rocket costs around 5 lakhs, so using a regiment will involve launching 12*18 rockets in 44 seconds. That is having a straight away cost of Rs 2.16 crores. A single Prithvi-I missile will have same order of magnitude cost.

So using 18 launchers within a regiment appears to be a waste of manpower as area of attack will be similar to a conventional missile with a small warhead. 

Instead converting Pinaka system to a  miniaturized version with a range of just 10-25 km might be more practical to a conventional brigade or division. So a small operation will have the shock and disruptive capability of a highly versatile rocket force and which can have a plug and play kind of application. The area under fire can be small or spread out depending upon the terrain, enemy deployment and target objective.

So Pinaka MLRS use should be further analyzed, in respect of kind of impact on traditional and new kinds of warfare expected. At the present cost, it appears to be an overkill with present regiment design. 

But using it either on a small scale, as part of an IBG where a single launcher can escort the group and can disrupt enemy plans is one simple option. Other end of use is to deploy it with large number of  launchers and very few command vehicles as  part of a brigade or division or even corps. So the area under fire can be widespread and a diplomatic edge can be achieved in case of constant warfare or conventional warfare.

Hope the technology and firepower will be used effectively keeping above aspects in mind.