1.5 km-high blast: DRDO tests high-calibre bomb at TBRL’s facility near Haryana villages | VIDEO

Panchkula: Residents of villages near the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory's (TBRL) Ramgarh range here remained indoors for over two hours on Sunday during a high-calibre bomb testing on Sunday.

The Panchkula district administration had issued an advisory to the residents of Bhanu and Billa villages, both of which fall within the splinter danger zone, ahead of the testing that was conducted between 10.30 am and 12.30 pm.

Police vehicles also patrolled the area to ensure that the residents stayed indoors during the specified period.

"The residents of nearby villages stayed indoors and everything passed off smoothly," Ramgarh Police Post In-Charge Tejinder Pal said over the phone.

In an official statement issued ahead of the trial, Panchkula Deputy Commissioner Satpal Sharma had said that bomb fragments were expected to rise to an altitude of around 1.5 km and spread within a horizontal radius of up to 2 km from the point of detonation. A safety zone extending 2 km from the blast site was required for the safe conduct of the trial. 

What is TBRL?

The Defence Research and Development Organisation's Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) is a premier defence research facility based in Chandigarh and operates under India's Ministry of Defence.

The laboratory specialises in armament technologies, explosives, terminal ballistics, warhead systems and the evaluation of weapons and ammunition. TBRL functions under DRDO's Missiles and Strategic Systems cluster and regularly conducts controlled field trials to test and validate defence technologies under stringent safety protocols.

While TBRL's main research facility is based in Chandigarh, its expansive 5,000-acre firing and testing range is located at Ramgarh, approximately 22 kilometres from Chandigarh. The range is used for conducting controlled trials and evaluations of defence systems, explosives and armament technologies.