Armament Research and Development Establishment Armament Research & Development Establishment ( ARDE ) is a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation ( DRDO ) . Located in Pune , it is the main DRDO lab involved in the development of Conventional Armament s . History . ARDE was established in 1958 , with the goal of achieving self - sufficiency in the field of Armaments . ARDE started working from a rudimentary facility within the campus of Ammunition Factory , Khadki . Personnel were drawn from the erstwhile Technical Development Establishment ( Weapons ) located in Jabalpur and Technical Development Establishment ( Ammunition ) at Khadki . In 1966 , ARDE moved to its present location at Pashan , on the out - skirts of Pune , next to the National Chemical Laboratory , a major CSIR Laboratory . Areas of work . ARDE ' s main area of research is in the design and development of Conventional Armaments for the Indian Armed Forces . This stretches over the whole gamut of research , development , prototyping , test and evaluation , and transfer of technology activities . This includes basic and applied research , modeling , simulation and software development of armaments . Additionally , life extension and upgradation of in - Service equipment is also carried out . Being a research laboratory , ARDE does not carry out large - scale production activities , except for limited scale pilot - plant production of crucial items . After an initial production , the technologies developed by it are transferred to manufacturing agencies like BEL , OFB and other manufacturers . In this capacity , ARDE supervises the Transfer of Technology to these plants , and aids in initial productionization and Quality Assurance of these products . With the Indian Armed Forces using many weapons from foreign vendors , it is necessary to integrate them and make them compatible with other existing systems in service . ARDE is involved in advising the Services regarding induction and indigenisation of Weapon Systems of Foreign Origin . One of the earlier ARDE developments was the 7 . 62 mm Ishapore Self - Loading Rifle ( SLR ) and its ammunition which replaced the Ishapore 2A1 bolt action rifles ( based on the 0 . 303 Lee Enfield rifle ) in Indian Army service then . Over a million rifles have been produced by the Ishapore Rifle Factory , and were used in the 1965 and 1971 Indo - Pakistan Wars . Projects and Products . Small Arms . Drawing heavily from its past experience with the 7 . 62mm SLR , ARDE developed the 5 . 56 mm Indian Small Arms System ( INSAS ) . This helped standardize ammunition for infantry , reducing logistical problems . The infantry was earlier equipped with three types of small arms firing two types of ammunition , viz . 7 . 62 mm Ishapore SLR , LMG and 9 mm carbine . The INSAS family replaces all the three weapons , and consists of an Assault Rifle , a Light Machine Gun , and a Carbine Variant . The INSAS was introduced in 1998 , and has since supplanted the SLR as the service rifle of the Indian Army . ARDE developed a single shot grenade launcher in collaboration with Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli for use with the INSAS and AK - 47 rifles . Stand alone versions of the grenade launcher also exist . The UBGL has an in - built safety to prevent accidental firing and a 3 - point attachment for rigidity . The trigger system is , located on the side of the barrel , allowing the soldier to fire both the rifle and grenade launcher without having to change his firing posture . The weapon uses a simple ladder sight mechanism and has tritium illuminated sights for night firing . The ammunition fired by the UBGL , is similar to the Milkor MGL used by the Indian Army , allowing for standardisation . Pinaka is a multiple rocket launcher developed by the DRDO for the Indian Army . Development began in 1983 . The Army had felt the need for a weapon system which could neutralize targets at ranges exceeding 30 km . To meet this demand , Pinaka MBRLS was developed . The project was a major program involving several DRDO Labs , Public and Private Sector Firms . This was one of the first major projects involving the Private sector . L & T and Tata have been given orders worth Rs . 390 crores Artillery and Tank guns . The system comprises a free - flight artillery rocket with different types of warheads & fuzes , a multi - tube launcher vehicle , a replenishment - cum - loader vehicle , a replenishment vehicle and a command post vehicle . The system is capable of firing in salvo mode within 48 sec , neutralizing an area of 700 x 500 m . The Pinaka was successfully used in Kargil War against Fortified Pakistani Positions in the mountains . The Army has placed an order for 6 regiments , with one already operational . The Arjun tank uses a 120 mm Rifled gun developed and tested by ARDE . The gun is one of the few rifled tank guns in modern tanks ( the Challenger 2 Tank also uses a rifled gun ) . It is capable of firing rounds at velocities over 1650 m / s , and can sustain pressures of up to 612 MPa . ARDE has also developed the Ammunition system for the gun , with FSAPDS being the primary kinetic energy round used . The Arjun can also use HEAT , HESH and other rounds , as well as being able to fire the LAHAT Anti - tank missile The armament and ammunition system are under current production at OFB . Project to develop 155mm 52 calibre indigenous howitzer . Ejection seat . ARDE has developed an ejection seat for LCA HAL Tejas military aircraft . The British Martin - Baker ejection seat used for initial prototype is planned to be replaced with a locally - developed alternative . To improve pilot safety during ejection , the Armament Research and Development Establishment ( ARDE ) , Pune , India created a new line - charged canopy severance system , which has been certified by Martin - Baker . Daksh is an electrically powered and remotely controlled robot used for locating , handling and destroying hazardous objects safely .