Marking a first in ammunition supply by the private sector to the Army, Nagpur-based Economic Explosives Limited (EEL) handed over the first batch of Multi-Mode Hand Grenades (MMHG) on Tuesday.
“The first batch of MMHG manufactured by EEL following Transfer of Technology from Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), was handed over to the Army in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Nagpur,” a Defence Ministry statement said.
The EEL had taken the technology from DRDO in 2016, the statement said. “Extensive trials were successfully undertaken by the Army and Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) in 2017-18 in plains, deserts and high altitudes over summer and winter,” it stated.
The MMHG grenades will replace Grenade No. 36 of World War I vintage design still in service. The EEL had signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence on October 1, 2020 to supply 10 lakh modern hand grenades to the Army and Air Force. The deliveries will be spread over two years from the bulk production clearance, which was accorded to EEL in March 2021, the statement added.
Talking of the initiative of technology transfer to Industries by DRDO, Mr. Singh said that this was being undertaken free of cost, while providing access to testing facilities and over 450 patents.
