Introduction

The military standoff with China at the LAC has seen India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conduct a number of missile tests to demonstrate India’s military prowess. The prominent one’s being:

• The Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) test was conducted on 07 September 2020.
• A different version of the in-service, surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile Brahmos was tested on 30 September 2020.
• Nuclear-capable ‘Shaurya’ missile was tested on 03 October 2020.
• The supersonic missile-assisted release of a torpedo on 05 October 2020.
• Besides a host of other, the DRDO has also carried out the test for the indigenous Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM), last month.

In this blog we shall discuss India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.

Background Information

The Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme falls under the ambit of Ministry of Defence with the objective of developing a range of guided missiles that provides India with a stellar military might and also, serve as a deterrent for our not so friendly neighbours, like China and Pakistan.

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, who worked with the ISRO and was closely involved in the development of Satellite Launch Vehicle, SLV-3, was inducted into the IGMD programme in 1980. Because of the success achieved by India in the guided missile development programme under his stewardship, he came to be known as the ’Missile Man of India’.

The programme kick started in 1980 and ended in 2008, when Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), formally announced on 08 January 2008, that the strategic integrated guided missile program had achieved its stated objective of developing the missiles listed in the program and the missiles after having been duly tested, inducted into the armed forces.

India’s prowess with regard to guided missile development came into prominence when Prithvi missile was test fired in 1988 and Agni missile in 1989.

Meanwhile, the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), (an informal grouping was established in 1987 to restrict proliferation of missile technology to restrict arms race amongst nations) found the potential of India’s strides into this field gigantic.

Its member countries, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, decided to restrict access to any technology that would help India in its missile development program.

In order to counter the move of MTCR, the IGMDP, made a consortium of DRDOs laboratories, industries and academic institutions to indigenously develop these sub-systems, components and materials. Though, it delayed the progress of the programme, but India made a slow, but sure ascends towards success.

The Missile Inventory of India

Prithvi Missile System. It is a surface-to- surface, short range ballistic missile. It was first test fired on 25 February 1988 from Sriharikota. It has three variants:

• Prithvi-I. Range – 150 km with a 1000kg payload of Nuclear, High Explosive (HE), sub munitions and chemical warhead. Missile inducted into service in 1998.
• Prithvi-II. Range – 350 km with a 350 to 750 kg payload of Nuclear, HE, sub munitions and chemical warhead. Missile inducted into service in 1996.
• Prithvi-III. Range – 350-600 km with a 500 to 1000 kg payload of Nuclear, HE, sub munitions and chemical warhead. Missile inducted into service in 2004.
• The naval operational variant of Prithvi I and Prithvi II class missiles are code named Dhanush (meaning Bow) and are meant for surface targets. The missile, which is capable of carrying conventional as well as nuclear payloads, is powered by a single-stage liquid propellant and is guided by an inertial system or GPS. The range is estimated to be between 150 and 400 km with a payload of 500-1000kg. Dhanush has been already inducted into service and was successfully test fired from Indian Navy Sukyana-class offshore patrol vessel on 23 February 2019.

Agni Missile System. These are medium (< 5,500 km range) to intercontinental (>5,500 km range) ballistic missiles. The Agni series comprises of the following missile variants:

• Agni-I. Range 750-1250 km with 750-1000kg payload of Nuclear, HE, penetration, sub-munitions warhead. Missile inducted into service in 2002.
• Agni-II. Range 2000-3500 km with 1000kg payload of Nuclear, HE, penetration, sub-munitions warhead. Missile inducted into service in 1999.
• Agni-III. Range 3500-5000 km with 2000- 2500kg payload of Nuclear, HE, penetration, sub-munitions warhead. Missile inducted into service in 2011.
• Agni-IV. Range 3000-4000 km with 800-1000kg payload of Nuclear, HE, penetration, sub-munitions warhead. Missile inducted into service in 2014.
• Agni-V. Range 5,500-5800 km with 1000kg payload of Nuclear, HE, penetration, sub-munitions warhead. This is an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). Agni-V was first tested in 2012 and again in 2013. A canisteristed test fire of this missile was successfully conducted from Wheelers Island on 31 January 2015.Agni-V was successfully test fired before its final induction into the forces from the Kalam Island off Odisha coast on 26 December 2016. The missile is 17 meters long, weighs about 50 tons and is a fire-and-forget system that cannot be easily detected as it follows a ballistic trajectory. The last successful test of Agni-V was conducted on 10 December 2019.The missile can target almost all of Asia including Pakistan and China and Europe.
• Agni-VI/Surya. Range 8000-12000 km with 80,000kg payload of Nuclear, HE, penetration, sub-munitions warhead. This missile is still under development.

Akash Missile System. The indigenously developed Akash missile is a medium range surface-to-air missile. It is multi target, multi directional, all-weather air-defence missile system consisting of surveillance and tracking radars for defending vulnerable areas against medium range air targets penetrating from low, medium and high altitudes.

It has supersonic (more than speed of sound) speeds ranging from Mach 2.8 to 3.5. It has the capability to carry 55- kg fragmentation warhead that is triggered by proximity fuse. It can engage aerial targets up to range of approximately 25 km. It can reach high altitude of 18 km and as low as 30 meters.

It is powered by Ramjet-rocket propulsion system (RRPS) which renders thrust for the missile to intercept the target at supersonic speed without any retardation. It is capable of neutralising aerial targets like cruise missiles, fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and air-to-surface missiles.

It has been inducted into Indian Army as short range surface to air missile.

It was also formally inducted into IAF in July 2015. The efficacy of Akash surface-to-air missile and the devastation that it creates at the target end was demonstrated for the first time during EXERCISE VAYU SHAKTI-2019.

Trishul Missile System. This is a short range surface-to-air missile, with a range of 9 km, with a payload of 5.5 kg warhead. Designed to be used against low-level (sea skimming) targets at short range, the system has been developed to defend naval vessels against missiles and also as a short range surface to air missile on land.

Though it has been developed and test fired by IGMDP, its development costs was exorbitant and touched almost US$70 million, so the project has been officially shut down on 27 February 2008.

Nag Missile System. This is a third generation fire and forget anti-tank missile. Nag missile, is an all-weather, top attack missile, with a range of 3km-7 km. Missile uses 8 kg of tandem High Explosive Anti-Tank warhead, capable of defeating modern armours like Explosive Reactive Armour and Composite Armour. The user trail of Nag was completed in 19 March 2005. Nag will enter production by the end of 2019.

Helina, the helicopter-launched version of the Nag anti-tank guided missile with a hit range of 7-8 km, was test fired successfully from an Army chopper for its full range on 23 February 2019 near the Chandipur Integrated Test Range in, Balasore.

Helina is guided by an infrared imaging seeker (IIR) operating in the lock-on before-launch mode and is considered to be one of the most-advanced anti-tank weapons of the world.

BraMos Cruise Missile. In 1998, the Government of India signed an agreement with Russia to design, develop, manufacture and market a Supersonic Cruise Missile System which has been successfully accomplished in 2006.

It is a super-sonic (higher than the speed of sound), liquid-fuelled ramjet-powered cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land.

At speeds of Mach 2.5 to 2.8, it is the world’s fastest cruise missile with a range of 290 km and is about three and a half times faster than the American subsonic Harpoon cruise missile. The missile was successfully test fired on 09 June 2014 for induction into the Indian Navy.

On 23 May 2019, Su-30 MKI fighter jet successfully test-fired the 2.5-tonne missile and India became the only country in the world to have fired an air-launched 2.8 Mach (three times the speed of sound) surface attack missile of this category.

A new version of the in-service, surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile Brahmos was tested on 30 September 2020.

The BrahMos missile provides Indian Air Force a much desired capability to strike from large stand-off ranges on any target at sea or on land with pinpoint accuracy by day or night and in all weather conditions.

India and Russia are reported to be preparing plans for a longer range version of the missile which could fly at up to Mach 5, or 6,125 km (3,800 miles) per hour.

While the BrahMos is currently surface and aircraft launched weapon, it is being tested for launch from a submarine also. It is believed that the sub-launched version has been offered to Vietnam for use on Vietnam’s Kilos, much to the annoyance of China.

Shaurya Missile. A Canister launched hypersonic (highly supersonic i.e. above Mach 5) surface to surface tactical missile developed by DRDO in 2011. The Shaurya missile is believed to be designed specifically to be fired from submarines.

It has a range in between 750 to 1900 km, and is capable of carrying a payload of one ton conventional or nuclear warhead. It can fly at a very low altitude and prevent detection by anti-missile weapon systems.

‘Shaurya’ missile, after it was tested on 03 October 2020, is now ready for induction into the Strategic Forces Command (SFC), which handles India’s nuclear arsenal.

Sagarika Missile/K-15. This is a domestically developed, short-range ballistic nuclear capable ballistic missile aimed to provide retaliatory nuclear strike capability to India.

The K-15 Sagarika, a solid-fueled two-stage SLBM capable of carrying a single 500-kilogram warhead (some sources claim that it can carry a 1,000-kilogram payload) and has a maximum range of 700 to 750 kilometers. The missile has been tested for integration with nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), the INS Arihant.

SMART Torpedo System. SMART is a missile-assisted release of lightweight Anti-Submarine Torpedo System for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) operations far beyond torpedo range.

It takes off like a regular supersonic missile when launched from a warship or a truck-based coastal battery. Most of its flight in the air is covered at lower altitudes with two-way data link from the warship or an airborne submarine target detection system.

It is also provided the exact location of the hostile submarine to correct its flight path midway. When it approaches close to a submerged submarine, the missile ejects the torpedo system into the water and the torpedo will start moving towards its target to hit the submarine.

The SMART Torpedo System was successfully test on 05 October 2020 and is being hailed as a “game changer” in anti-submarine warfare.

K4 Missile. India successfully test fired the nuclear-capable ballistic missile launched from an underwater platform, with a range of 2000km in February 2014. With this, India completed the nuclear triad available with only a few nations of having the capability of launching surface, air and underground nuclear-capable ballistic missiles.

Nirbhaya Missile. The Nirbhay is India’s first indigenously designed and developed subsonic long-range land attack cruise missile that can be armed with a 200-300-kilogram warhead.

The nuclear-capable, solid fuel, missile can reportedly reach top speeds of 0.6-0.7 Mach and can strike land targets at a distance of up to 1,000 kilometers. It can be launched from multiple platforms. This missile was test fired for the first time in March 2013 and is in the final stages of development.

The DRDO conducted the sixth flight test of the nuclear-capable Nirbhay cruise missile on 15 April 2019 from the Integrated Test Range on Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha. The missile is yet to be inducted into service.

Astra Missile. Astra is the first indigenously developed, an all weather, beyond-visual-range, air-to-air missile of India. The missile was successfully test fired from a Sukhoi-30 Mk1 combat jet on 24 May 2014.

It features mid-course inertial guidance with terminal active radar homing. Astra is designed to be capable of engaging targets at varying range and altitudes allowing for engagement of both short-range targets at a distance of 20 km and long-range targets up to a distance of 80 km. Besides the Sukhoi-30, Astra is being also integrated with Mirage 2000 and MiG-29. Limited series production of Astra missiles began in 2017.

Air Force will have this missile as its future mainstay missile system and DRDO is aiming to arm the complete fleet of Aircrafts with this missile, including Sukhoi’s and Tejas, Light Combat Aircraft.

Prahar Missile. It is a multi-missile launcher system with a range of 150 km that will have the capability to fire six missiles from its multi-launcher system.

Prahar missile is a contemporary weapon system capable of carrying a number of different warheads, nuclear, high-explosives (HE) and sub-munitions.

It is carried by the TATRA Transporter-Erector-Launcher vehicle, each of which can accommodate six missiles and is capable of engaging and successfully neutralising a wide range of targets in different directions.

The Indian Army has successfully test-fired its surface-to-surface short-range tactical ballistic missile Prahaar from Chandipur, Odisha on 21 September 2018.

It is believed that the missile has been designed and developed to replace the short-range Prithvi-1 weapon system.

Barak-8 Long-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM).The Barak 8LRSAM missile defense system has been jointly developed by IAI and [DRDO]in collaboration with defense contractors in India and Israel.

Barak 8 is fitted with advanced radio frequency/infrared homing seekers, is designed to deal with a wide range of incoming airborne threats and can intercept targets as close as 500 meters away from a ship. The missile has a maximum speed of Mach 2 and its maximum range is estimated at around 70 kilometers (an extended range version of the Barak 8 can reportedly intercept targets at a distance of up to 150 kilometers.)

LRSAM also features a multifunction active electronically scanned array naval radar system providing 360 degree coverage.

The medium-range surface-to-air missile (MRSAM) usually refers to the land-based variant of the Brarak-8 missile system. The Indian Army plans to stand up five MRSAM regiments by 2023.

The Indian Navy for the first time in its history conducted a live firing test using the 7,500-ton Kolkata-class (Project 15A) guided-missile destroyers INS Kochiand INS Chennai with each firing a medium-range surface-to-air missile (MRSAM) and the Barak 8 long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) in the third week of May 2019.

Anti-Satellite Missile. India is one of the four nations of the world to have developed the capability of destroying a “live satellite” in low earth orbit.

On 27 March 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation to announce that Mission Shakti, (name attributed to the test) was successful and the interceptor was able to strike a test satellite at a 283-kilometre.

Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV)

The HSTDV, based on hypersonic propulsion technologies will help India develop futuristic space assets like long-range missile systems and aerial platforms.The HSTDV is capable of powering missiles to attain a speed of around Mach 6 or six times the speed of sound because it uses a Scramjet technology as against Ramjet engine technology which is used on most missiles and can operate at supersonic speeds of up to Mach 3.

The successful test launch of the HSTDV by DRDO on 07 September 2020 makes India the fourth country in the world after the US, China and Russia to develop such technology.

Difference between Ballistic and Cruise Missiles

A Ballistic missile follows a free-fall or ballistic trajectory to deliver one or multiple warheads at the target end. Ballistic missiles are primarily intended for use against ground targets.

The missile is only briefly guided during the initial phase and most of its trajectory is unpowered and governed by gravity and air resistance.

The long range ICBMs spend most of their flight out of the earth’s atmosphere (hence, ballistic missiles can achieve longer ranges than the cruise missile of the same size) and re-enters the atmosphere in its terminal phase. The short range ballistic missiles, however, stay within the earth’s atmosphere.

The initial phase is powered by either a liquid or solid fuel rocket and the flight of a ballistic missile includes three phases:

(a) Boost phase, where the rocket generates thrust to launch the missile into flight.

(b) Midcourse phase, where the missile coasts in an arc under the influence of gravity, and

(c) Terminal phase, in which the missile descends towards its target.

Prithvi, Dhanush and the Agni are examples of ballistic missile held with India. Pakistan inventory has ballistic missiles such as Hatf, Ghauri and Shaheen.

In contrast a Cruise missile is an aerodynamically guided missile that remains within the earth’s atmosphere, flying at approximately a constant speed throughout its flight and is used against terrestrial targets.

The cruise missiles are powered by more economical jet engines instead of rocket motors as in the case of ballistic missiles, which requires large amount of fuel, making the launch vehicles of ballistic missiles larger and easier to detect and intercept.

The accuracy, and circular error probability of a Cruise missile is better than the Ballistic missile. It is for this reason that the cruise missiles are used to attack high value targets at long ranges, like ships, command and communication centres, bridges and dams.

Cruise missiles are designed to deliver large warheads over long distances using ramjet engines with high accuracy. It is capable of travelling at supersonic or subsonic speeds, has inbuilt navigation system and fly at extremely low altitude trajectory to avoid detection.

The cruise missiles are overall cheaper, more mobile, accurate and versatile as compared to the ballistic missiles. However, the ballistic missiles have greater terminal speed and become difficult to be intercepted at that stage.

BrahMos, Shaurya and Nirbhay are examples of Cruise missiles held with India. Pakistan currently has three cruise missiles, air-launched Ra’ad, ground-launched Babur and sea-launched Zarb.

Differences between: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Drones and Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV)

UAVs are basically planes that do not have a cockpit, hence no pilot. UAVs rely on a pre-programmed flight plan for remotely sent heading changes. It is the on-board computer of the plane that actually controls it and reacts to changing conditions in order to reach the desired location.

UAVs are being extensively used for aerial reconnaissance, mapping, etc.

The Indian armed forces has been operating UAVs for more than a decade now, initially the Searcher Mark I, was obtained, followed by the Searcher Mark II which could operate at an altitude ceiling of 15,000 ft and finally the Heron, from Israel which can operate at an altitude ceiling of 30,000 ft. Besides the Nishant UAV developed by the DRDO is also in service.

The indigenously developed Rustom-I and Rustom-II, by DRDO will replace/supplement the Heron UAVs in service with the Indian armed forces.

The term “drone” was originally applied to pilotless airplanes used in target practice. These are machines/vehicles that are piloted through pre-programmed computer software or a remote pilot. Hence, a Drone can also be called an Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV).

Drones are semi-autonomous vehicles that may be incorporated in larger spacecraft to expand its launching capabilities.

The subtle difference that has emerged during recent times is that the UAVs are invariably unarmed and used mostly for surveys, mapping, visual and thermal imaging of a region and other less lethal tasks, whereas, Drones are generally armed with lethal weapons and have more of military application like inflicting casualties to militant leaders and destruction of their war waging machinery.

Thus, any flying drone has to be a UAV, but not every UAV has to be a drone.

Lastly, the Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV) is a type of UAV with similar basic design and structure. However, in case of a RPV, the pilot is not really eliminated but just relocated to a remote and safe location.

The RPV still functions like a typical airplane, and the pilot still has a cockpit with all the necessary controls except that the inputs provided by the pilot are now transmitted to a military satellite which then sends it to the RPV.

Therefore, it can still be tasked with missions that are typically done by piloted planes, like surgical strikes on high value, high risk targets, without any risk to the pilot.

Conclusion

India advocates and maintains its policy of ‘No First Use’ and justifies the development of its nuclear and guided missiles capability only for ‘Credible Minimum Deterrence’.

Therefore, India’s missile arsenal and its capability to deliver conventional and nuclear weapons at long ranges is fundamentally a means to deter both Pakistan and more importantly, China from attempting any misadventure. To this end, India is developing ship and sub-launched ballistic missiles, and has collaborated with Russia on cruise missile development.

Balakote was a clear demonstration of India’s capability to strike hard and deep into enemy territory. It is only because of the enhanced military capability that the world, especially our hostile neighbours, have got an unambiguous message that India can no longer be meddled with at will.