Heavy Alloy Penetrator Project

The Heavy Alloy Penetrator Project or HAPP is an Indian defence establishment operated by the Ordnance Factories Board. Headquartered at Kolkata, under the overall charge of Ministry of Defence, Government of India the factory is located about 25 kilometres from the main city of Tiruchirappalli.^[1]

History

The factory was initially established in the late 1980s as a unit of Defence Research and Development Organisation in collaboration with other government defence agencies and some foreign partners. After full scale development of the product was completed, the factory was handed over to Ordnance Factories Board, to begin full-scale production. This is one of the forty one ordnance factories operated by OFB throughout India, and one of the two factories in Tiruchirappalli, the other being Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli (OFT).

Products

The factory produces 400 tonne per annum home-made tungsten based heavy alloy components through powder metallurgy processes^[2] to manufacture FSAPDS (Fin Stabilized Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot), alternatively called the APFSDS, which is a high kinetic energy weapon used in tank and other armor-piercing ammunition, supplied to Indian Army.^[3]

Geography

The project factory is set up separately from the township that houses the employees working in the project. The township is a part of the project and is adequately equipped for meeting the daily needs of its residents. There are government quarters for the employees, a small dispensary-cum-hospital, banks and post-office. There are two schools, one of them being a Kendriya Vidyalaya (Central School). There is a small market complex that houses a few shops selling groceries, stationery shops, PCO among others.

The place is surrounded by a few small villages and settlements. It is also connected by road to its sister factory OFT, which is a couple of kilometres away and BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited) is located about 5 kilometres away. There are buses connecting the township to the main town and a few auto-rickshaws also ply between the places.

References