To confuse opposing forces, the Indian Army’s tanks and infantry combat vehicles (BMPs) will soon be armed with modern smoke grenades. The anti-thermal and anti-laser grenades will create a short-duration smoke screen to prevent hostile battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles from detecting them in battle.

“The grenade produces a massive cloud of smoke that completely blinds the hostile party. Even opposing vehicles’ thermal imagers and laser rangefinders would be unable to spot our tanks, according to a senior scientist with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The 3D6 smoke grenade, which is only effective in the visible area of the electromagnetic spectrum, is currently fitted to Indian tanks and BMPs. “In a tank-to-tank battle, this could be problematic,” a scientist stated.

The new grenade was developed in 2014 by DRDO’s Pune-based High Energy Materials Research Laboratory as an alternative to Russian munitions. Scientists and army officials have conducted several trials at the K K Range in Ahmednagar since then.

“Last year, the army approved the newly created smoke grenade. “We just signed a knowledge transfer deal for mass manufacturing with the Ordnance Factory, Dehu Road, as well as a Nagpur-based private enterprise,” HEMRL director K P S Murthy said.

“During a combat, being able to manoeuvre tanks successfully is critical. “During a combat, an advanced smoke grenade is critical for shifting the position of a tank,” a senior armoured corps officer remarked.