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India joins Ballistic Missile Defence Club

Missile success

Missile success

T.S. SUBRAMANIAN

After the flawless launch of the surface-to-surface missile Shourya, the DRDO is set to fire an interceptor missile.


MOHAMMED YOUSUF

V.K. Saraswat (left), Chief Controller, Research and Development, Missile and Strategic Systems, with the Shourya team led by its programme director A.K. Chakrabarti (right) and P. Venugopalan, DRDL Director. In the backdrop is the missile in a canister.



BUOYED by the successful first test of the surface-to-surface Shourya missile from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea near Balasore in Orissa on November 12, missile technologists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are engaged in preparing for the launch of an interceptor missile. The launch, scheduled to take place in the second half of December, will feature two missiles. While the target missile, with a range of 1,500 km, will be fired from a ship in the Bay of Bengal towards Wheeler Island, located off the Orissa coast, the interceptor missile, which will be fired from the island, will engage an incoming “enemy missile” in the terminal phase of its flight at an altitude of 80 km in the exo-atmosphere and pulverise it. The enemy missile will be a modified version of Dhanush.

There is intense high-technology work going on at the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), the Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), and the Research Centre, Imarat (RCI), all located on the serene DRDO campus. The scientists at the ASL are furiously working on Agni-V, which will have a range of 5,000 km. Its design has been completed and development work is under way. It will be launched in 2010. The ASL is also preparing for a flight trial of Agni-IIIA in 2009. The missile will be an advanced version of Agni-II, which has a range of more than 2,500 km.

Shourya is a hypersonic missile; it can reach a velocity of Mach 6 (six times the speed of sound) even at low altitudes. On November 12, even before this “totally new” missile crossed a distance of 300 km, it reached a velocity of Mach 5, heating up its surface to 700{+0} Celsius. The missile performed an ingenuous manoeuvre of rolling to spread the heat uniformly on its surface. Its high manoeuvrability makes it less vulnerable to present-day anti-missile defence systems.

Shourya can reach targets 700 km away, carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads. It is 10 metres long and 74 cm in diameter and weighs 6.2 tonnes. It is a two-stage missile and both its stages are powered by solid propellants. Its flight time is 500 seconds to 700 seconds.

In the estimate of V.K. Saraswat, Chief Controller, Missiles and Strategic Systems, DRDO, Shourya “will rank among the top 10 missiles in the world” in its class, with its high-performance navigation and guidance systems, efficient propulsion systems, state-of-the-art control technologies and canisterised launch. It can be easily transported by road. The missile, encased in a canister, is mounted on a single vehicle, which has only a driver’s cabin, and the vehicle itself is the launch platform. This “single vehicle solution” reduces its signature – it cannot be easily detected by satellites – and makes its deployment easy.

Shourya was ejected from the canister by a gas generator, developed by the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune, and the ASL. The gas generator, located at the bottom of the canister, fires for about a second and a half. It produces high pressure gas, which expands and ejects the missile from the tube. The missile has six motors; the first one is the motor in the gas generator.The centrepiece of a host of new technologies incorporated in Shourya is its ring-laser gyroscope and accelerometer. The ring-laser gyroscope, a sophisticated navigation and guidance system made by the RCI, is highly classified technology. Advanced countries have denied this technology to India. In Shourya’s flight, it functioned exceptionally well. Its job is to monitor the missile’s position in space when it is flying. The missile’s onboard computer will use this information on the missile’s actual position to compare it with the desired position. Based on the difference between the missile’s actual and desired positions, the computer will decide on the optimum path and actuators will command the missile to fly in its desired/targeted position.

If one were to strike a comparison, the missile is akin to a human body, with the gyroscope acting like the eyes, the computer like the brain and the actuators like the hands.

M. Natarajan, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and Director-General of the DRDO, praised the way the ring-laser gyroscope functioned in Shourya’s flight. “We flew our own navigation system in this missile. It worked very well. This is an important step forward for the country in the navigation of missiles, aircraft and spacecraft. No other country will provide India this navigation system,” he said.

Another important feature of the missile is that it has a trajectory that is non-ballistic. This gives Shourya a big advantage in a combat environment of interception by a ballistic missile defence shield. Saraswat said: “There are many features in this missile that reduce its radar cross-section to very low values, ensuring that under no phase of its trajectory, Shourya can be detected by state-of-the-art radars. In strategic defence scenario, this missile will find an important place after it completes its development trials.”

What has focussed attention on Shourya is that it is a land variant of the DRDO’s K-15 missile launched from under water. There have been several launches of the K-15 missile, coming under the Sagarika project. The last of these took place in February 2008 from a submerged pontoon. The launch simulated the conditions of a submarine. W. Selvamurthy, Chief Controller (R&D), DRDO, asserted that the missile provided India with a second strike capability. Selvamurthy called Shourya’s flight a significant milestone in building capability for the nation in the field of missiles for both strategic and tactical applications.

A.K. Chakrabarti, programme director of the Shourya project, said the missile had several “safety interlocks” preventing it from being fired inadvertently. He said strategic missiles (that is, missiles that can carry nuclear warheads, which are used only for a show of threat) had redundancy and reliability built into them so that they were not fired accidentally. Safety interlocks provided such redundancy.

Although hypersonic missiles fly at high altitudes, what makes Shourya different is that it can fly at low altitudes. For instance, Agni variants flew at 100 km, 200 km or 500 km altitudes, reaching even Mach 15. “But Shourya flies at a relatively low altitude, even reaching Mach 6. This is the crux of the matter in terms of technology development,” Saraswat said.

Chakrabarti added: “Hypersonic missile is a new field of activity even in advanced countries. However, we have established our expertise in this field.”

CANISTERISED FORM

BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Shourya lifts off from the Integrated Test Range at Balasore on November 12.

Shourya’s launch was in a canisterised form but from a silo. Half of the missile’s length was inside a pit, that is, a silo. Chakrabarti said: “You can easily put the entire missile inside the pit. Normally, the depth of the silo depends on the operation. So the depth can be 10 metres or 20 metres, depending on the place where you are going to launch it from, the condition of the ground, or safety requirements.”

Whether the missile was launched from a depth of 20 m or 40 m did not make a difference, P. Venugopalan, Director, DRDL, said. The silo had to be built accordingly. “The missile comes out of it as part of its trajectory. You must fire the main booster only after it comes out of the silo.” A tremendous amount of effort went into the design, quality assurance, and the manufacture and testing of hardware. “For a large system, you cannot afford to conduct many tests. In a few trials, you have to prove the system. Shourya has a high order of reliability,” he said.

What lends mobility to Shourya is that it can be launched from a canister mounted on a trailer. This trailer, or launcher, as it is called, was built by the Research and Development Establishment (Engineers), Pune. It has several features to absorb shocks in order to make the transport of the missile by road safe.

Chakrabarti said the canister was made of locally available high-strength, special-glass composite. The DRDO has set up a facility in the missile complex to manufacture the tube.

Dr. A. Subhananda Rao, Director, HEMRL, said: “This gas generator system should have a very high reliability of 99.997 per cent. If it fails, a lot of things will burst.” The gas generator’s propellants have a special requirement. Their burn rate should be very high, that is, three to four times more than that of the rocket’s propellants. The responsibility of the generator is to produce the gases at the required pressure so that the missile comes out of the canister within a certain velocity band. “The basic requirement is that the missile should come out of the canister within a few seconds. This is to meet the required canister-exit velocity,” Subhananda Rao said.

The first stage is fired by a motor powered by solid propellants, which has a complex grain configuration. The second stage is fired by another motor, which will take the missile to the required velocity. There are retro-motors as well. “When the first stage is separated from the second stage, it has to be decelerated to maintain the gap between the first and second stages. For separating the first stage and jettisoning it, we have pitch-and-yaw motors,” he added.

The HEMRL provides the solid propellants for powering Shourya’s various motors and the pyro devices for jettisoning the first stage. There are elaborate facilities at the 850-acre (one acre is 0.4 hectare) HEMRL complex to design and produce the solid propellants required for various missiles.

The secret of Shourya’s success, in the estimate of M.S.R. Prasad, project director, lies in its optimum configuration. The smaller the size of the missile, the lower its drag and resistance. So its packing density would be high. “Shourya has minimum weight and minimum cross-section. That gives it a high performance,” Prasad explained. If the missile’s diameter were to be large, it could be comfortable internally. But such a diameter would increase the air resistance and decrease the overall performance.

It was a young DRDO team, under the leadership of A. Joseph, project director, that built the missile. While the project team was from the DRDL, which designed Shourya, important contributions came from the ASL, the RCI, the HEMRL and the RDE (Engineers). The missile is under production by Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad.
 
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hmm the good point here is, Dhanush's range

missile technologists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are engaged in preparing for the launch of an interceptor missile. The launch, scheduled to take place in the second half of December, will feature two missiles. While the target missile, with a range of 1,500 km, will be fired from a ship in the Bay of Bengal towards Wheeler Island, located off the Orissa coast, the interceptor missile, which will be fired from the island, will engage an incoming “enemy missile” in the terminal phase of its flight at an altitude of 80 km in the exo-atmosphere and pulverise it. The enemy missile will be a modified version of Dhanush.
 
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India tests new rocket at Chandipur-on-sea

India tests new rocket at Chandipur-on-sea

BALASORE: Scripting another success in the on-going defence programme, India Tuesday tested a new rocket developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) {added: I don't know when HAL became a developer} from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea.

As part of a target simulation exercise, the scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and HAL conducted the test which was claimed as a ‘success’ by the defence personnel.

“The test was conducted for the first time after HAL developed and manufactured the rocket. The weapon met the mission objectives as coordinated,” said a source at the defence base here.

“The rocket was fired from an advanced light combat helicopter (ALCH) and hit a para-barrel which was used as a target for the rocket. The ALCH was, however, lifted up from Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal,” informed the source.

Sources said, while the ITR provided all possible logistics support for the first-ever test, the HAL officials conducted the test to gauge the accuracy of the rocket and other parameters.

According to a defence scientist the rocket has a strike range of about 4 km and it is 1.5 meter in length.

“The test will further help the scientists to develop the ALCH as an advanced unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with weapon deliver capability,”
he added.
 
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fascinating shots:

LiveFist: EXCLUSIVE Photos: India's Shourya missile test Part I

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Guys India has to share some information about their development with pakistan and pakistan with India. Its bilateral deal. So what ever we see in public forum are all shared with pakistan officials directly much before they get published outside. So nothing to be panic about.

ON top of these information both countries have their own secret service agents working on to dig more LOL....
 
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ndia builds defence missile shield with US

India is soon to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United States to boost its missile defence system. The MoU is aimed at giving India the state of the art technology that will allow it to intercept any threat from ballistic missiles.

In the cold war era Russian and Americans were in a state of conflict, tension and competition. Both the superpowers were engaged in costly defence spending and in a massive conventional and nuclear arms race and numerous proxy wars.

Then American President Reagan's dream-dubbed star war didn't quite shape up but was scaled down to a more realistic version of ground-based anti-missile systems.

India's Agni missile -- a strategic strike missile -- is being tested. Now, India is joining hands with the United States of America to create its own missile shield to protect and destroy.

The missile defence programme is intended to be a defensive screen with the ability to track and destroy incoming ballistic missiles. The command centre communicates target information to ground-based interceptors. This can then intercept and destroy incoming ballistic missile warheads outside the earth's atmosphere. Called kill vehicles, these interceptors isolate the warhead from the missile decoy.

India will now have access to these technologies and will also ask the US to allow it to observe missile tests like this. The crucial help will come in enhancing capabilities of its own command centres which will act as the brains of the missile defence system.

India will now use this advance technology to defend its territory and keep its forces in a state of readiness.

TIMESNOW.tv - Latest Breaking News, Big News Stories, News Videos -
 
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hmmm hope this can be useful in some way
News and Events, NAL, Bangalore

AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISATION OF RLV-TD

NAL trisonic wind tunnel facility is being used extensively to characterize the aerodynamics of Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) configuration during various phases of flights as well as to generate very important data viz. FADS calibration coefficients, hinge moments, unsteady aerodynamics, flow visualization and dynamic derivatives of RLV-TD HEX-1 mission, which is planned in the middle of next year. The descent phase aerodynamic characterization (TDV alone) was completed and the huge data generated was of immense use for the design and simulations. The aerodynamic community has lauded the voluminous data, which runs into 1196 tables that was followed for the first time, as practiced in aircraft industry.

In order to meet RLV-HEX-1 mission target of May-June 2009, the complete aerodynamic characterization during ascent phase as well as FADS calibration data were essential by November, 2008. On the request from ISRO, the test program was undertaken on priority by the NTAF team. Also during the course of the tests, the test data were made available in real time to the Project and design teams that facilitated making a first cut assessment on the result and to carry forward the remaining program. The total number of blowdowns was more than 450 and the whole test program went smooth. The NTAF team rose to meet the crises, like power problems and put extra effort in order to ensure timely completion of the program.

On behalf of the project, Dr K Sivan Project Director, RLV-TD, VSSC has appreciated the NTAF team for putting their best efforts to complete the RLV-TD ascent phase aerodynamic characterization and FADS calibration test for providing the data within the targeted schedules . Dr K Sivan has also mentioned that he is looking forward to the continued support and cooperation from NAL for the further test programs.
 
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The army version and the shore based anti ship versions are not in the article but a good read any ways:

India's powerful BrahMos anti-ship missile - upiasia.com

India's powerful BrahMos anti-ship missile

Toronto, ON, Canada, — China and Pakistan should pay attention to India’s newest anti-ship missile, the BrahMos. It is an anti-ship missile with a 660-pound warhead. It has a highly sophisticated ramjet engine, which speeds a three-ton missile to its target at Mach-3 speed.

In its initial flight trajectory it hugs the sea, making it impossible for jet fighters, anti-missile systems and rapid firing guns to stop it. In its terminal phase, it rises up to the sky and then drops on its prey like a giant harpoon. The missile’s high speed causes extensive damage to a ship on impact and the 660 pounds of explosives it carries cause the rest of the damage.

It can also be described as a sea-denial missile – denying an enemy access to the sea it defends.

The missile, originally called the Yakhont, was designed by the Soviets to kill U.S. aircraft carriers 200 miles away. In 1991 the United States expressed concern about its development and Russian President Boris Yeltsin, a U.S. friend at the time, shelved the project. This turned out to be India’s gain.

India took over the development work in 1998, agreeing to spend over US$250 million on the project. The Russian missile engine was married to an Indian guidance system in a 50:50 partnership, thus giving it the unique name of BrahMos, after India’s Brahmaputra River and Russia’s Moskva River.

India has no intention of killing U.S. aircraft carriers, hence its development and operation were not questioned by the United States. On the other hand, a Chinese naval flotilla approaching the Indian Ocean on an aggressive mission would be fair game for this missile.

The same is true of any aggressive moves by the Pakistani Navy. The latter has always envisioned attacking India’s offshore oil and gas fields close to Mumbai, and repeating the Muslim destruction of India’s Somnath Temple on the Gujarat coast, 900 years back.

The version of the BrahMos that went into operation in 2005 is the naval version only. Another version, which can be carried by an aircraft or used in land-to-land combat, is still under development and should be operational in about three years.

Collaboration on the missile’s development was not easy. In 1998 the Russians were strictly following the guidelines of the Missile Technology Control Regime and would not export any missile technology beyond the 300-kilometer (186-mile) range. It also would not give India any help in building a sophisticated guidance system.

Hence this missile has a limited range of 290 kilometers (180 miles) and has an Indian guidance system. All testing and development since 1998 have been carried out in India, with the Russians as a 50-percent partner.

Beginning in 2002 when the missile first flew, it surprised most observers. Few thought that Russian-Indian collaboration could be successful and produce a weapon of that sophistication. Now it is a reality. Some Indian Navy ships are already equipped with it. Soon the air and land version will join the Indian forces, making them highly potent.

This technology acquisition and development was so important for India that the military went out of its way not to draw international attention. Technology transfer arrangements were such that no MTCR guidelines were broken.

Also in India’s neighborhood, Pakistan has acquired U.S. Harpoon and French Exocet missiles, and China has been buying Russian Sovremenny-class destroyers – hence India had to do something unique to put both China and Pakistan on the defensive. It appears that India has now achieved that task.

Although the missile is so successful, India was expecting other nations to order it. But no export orders have been received so far, despite an intense sales pitch over the last three years. None of the potential customers wishes to kill U.S. or other nations’ aircraft carriers; hence they do not need such a powerful weapon. Also, at US$2.5 million apiece the price is a bit steep. The original requirement of 1,000 missiles for the Indian and Russian navies still stands.

The future of this missile in Indian hands is very bright. It will permanently keep the Chinese navy out of the Indian Ocean. Closer to home, the belligerent Pakistan is unmindful of these developments. Their Harpoon missile inventory is very capable, but is subsonic and has a very limited range. The BrahMos, carried on ships and planes, can be fired from 200 miles away and hit its target with pinpoint accuracy.

The scramjet-powered BrahMos-2 will again be developed with Russian collaboration. That is the only way India will lay its hands on scramjet technology. The irony is that the MTCR will prevent its range from exceeding 300 kilometers.

This development work will take three years and will involve 20 Russian and Indian institutes and industrial units to finish the job. The only thing known about this newer missile, the BrahMos-2, is that it will fly at about Mach-5 to Mach-7 speed and will beat any known anti aircraft or anti-missile defense system.

The Chinese asked the Russians for similar collaboration on a similar missile system, but were flatly turned down. Instead the Russians equipped Chinese destroyers with Moskit class sea-skimming ramjet missiles. These are very capable missiles with a range of 90 to 150 kilometers. But these could neither be launched from aircraft nor have land-to-land use.

India expects about US$10 billion in orders for these missiles. The production line is gearing up to make 1,000 of these in various versions over the next ten years. If an additional export order for 1,000 more missiles is obtained the production line will have to be significantly expanded. Right now there no export orders – that will limit production to about 50-100 missiles a year.

A comparable missile in the U.S. inventory is the Tomahawk cruise missile, which has an extended range and larger explosive payload than others. But it is a subsonic missile, and thus can fall prey to fighter jets or anti-air or anti-missile system.

Collaboration between the Russians and Indians has produced a marvelous weapon. Future collaboration between the two nations is in the cards, in developing a fifth-generation fighter jet, a new tank design, etc. This is helpful to both countries. The Russians can defray the development costs and India gets a sophisticated weapon. Barring a few hiccups this collaboration will continue.

--

(Hari Sud is a retired vice president of C-I-L Inc., a former investment strategies analyst and international relations manager. A graduate of Punjab University and the University of Missouri, he has lived in Canada for the past 34 years. ©Copyright Hari Sud.)
 
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The army version and the shore based anti ship versions are not in the article but a good read any ways:

India's powerful BrahMos anti-ship missile - upiasia.com

India's powerful BrahMos anti-ship missile

Toronto, ON, Canada, — China and Pakistan should pay attention to India’s newest anti-ship missile, the BrahMos. It is an anti-ship missile with a 660-pound warhead. It has a highly sophisticated ramjet engine, which speeds a three-ton missile to its target at Mach-3 speed.

In its initial flight trajectory it hugs the sea, making it impossible for jet fighters, anti-missile systems and rapid firing guns to stop it. In its terminal phase, it rises up to the sky and then drops on its prey like a giant harpoon. The missile’s high speed causes extensive damage to a ship on impact and the 660 pounds of explosives it carries cause the rest of the damage.

It can also be described as a sea-denial missile – denying an enemy access to the sea it defends.

The missile, originally called the Yakhont, was designed by the Soviets to kill U.S. aircraft carriers 200 miles away. In 1991 the United States expressed concern about its development and Russian President Boris Yeltsin, a U.S. friend at the time, shelved the project. This turned out to be India’s gain.

India took over the development work in 1998, agreeing to spend over US$250 million on the project. The Russian missile engine was married to an Indian guidance system in a 50:50 partnership, thus giving it the unique name of BrahMos, after India’s Brahmaputra River and Russia’s Moskva River.

India has no intention of killing U.S. aircraft carriers, hence its development and operation were not questioned by the United States. On the other hand, a Chinese naval flotilla approaching the Indian Ocean on an aggressive mission would be fair game for this missile.

The same is true of any aggressive moves by the Pakistani Navy. The latter has always envisioned attacking India’s offshore oil and gas fields close to Mumbai, and repeating the Muslim destruction of India’s Somnath Temple on the Gujarat coast, 900 years back.

The version of the BrahMos that went into operation in 2005 is the naval version only. Another version, which can be carried by an aircraft or used in land-to-land combat, is still under development and should be operational in about three years.

Collaboration on the missile’s development was not easy. In 1998 the Russians were strictly following the guidelines of the Missile Technology Control Regime and would not export any missile technology beyond the 300-kilometer (186-mile) range. It also would not give India any help in building a sophisticated guidance system.

Hence this missile has a limited range of 290 kilometers (180 miles) and has an Indian guidance system. All testing and development since 1998 have been carried out in India, with the Russians as a 50-percent partner.

Beginning in 2002 when the missile first flew, it surprised most observers. Few thought that Russian-Indian collaboration could be successful and produce a weapon of that sophistication. Now it is a reality. Some Indian Navy ships are already equipped with it. Soon the air and land version will join the Indian forces, making them highly potent.

This technology acquisition and development was so important for India that the military went out of its way not to draw international attention. Technology transfer arrangements were such that no MTCR guidelines were broken.

Also in India’s neighborhood, Pakistan has acquired U.S. Harpoon and French Exocet missiles, and China has been buying Russian Sovremenny-class destroyers – hence India had to do something unique to put both China and Pakistan on the defensive. It appears that India has now achieved that task.

Although the missile is so successful, India was expecting other nations to order it. But no export orders have been received so far, despite an intense sales pitch over the last three years. None of the potential customers wishes to kill U.S. or other nations’ aircraft carriers; hence they do not need such a powerful weapon. Also, at US$2.5 million apiece the price is a bit steep. The original requirement of 1,000 missiles for the Indian and Russian navies still stands.

The future of this missile in Indian hands is very bright. It will permanently keep the Chinese navy out of the Indian Ocean. Closer to home, the belligerent Pakistan is unmindful of these developments. Their Harpoon missile inventory is very capable, but is subsonic and has a very limited range. The BrahMos, carried on ships and planes, can be fired from 200 miles away and hit its target with pinpoint accuracy.

The scramjet-powered BrahMos-2 will again be developed with Russian collaboration. That is the only way India will lay its hands on scramjet technology. The irony is that the MTCR will prevent its range from exceeding 300 kilometers.

This development work will take three years and will involve 20 Russian and Indian institutes and industrial units to finish the job. The only thing known about this newer missile, the BrahMos-2, is that it will fly at about Mach-5 to Mach-7 speed and will beat any known anti aircraft or anti-missile defense system.

The Chinese asked the Russians for similar collaboration on a similar missile system, but were flatly turned down. Instead the Russians equipped Chinese destroyers with Moskit class sea-skimming ramjet missiles. These are very capable missiles with a range of 90 to 150 kilometers. But these could neither be launched from aircraft nor have land-to-land use.

India expects about US$10 billion in orders for these missiles. The production line is gearing up to make 1,000 of these in various versions over the next ten years. If an additional export order for 1,000 more missiles is obtained the production line will have to be significantly expanded. Right now there no export orders – that will limit production to about 50-100 missiles a year.

A comparable missile in the U.S. inventory is the Tomahawk cruise missile, which has an extended range and larger explosive payload than others. But it is a subsonic missile, and thus can fall prey to fighter jets or anti-air or anti-missile system.

Collaboration between the Russians and Indians has produced a marvelous weapon. Future collaboration between the two nations is in the cards, in developing a fifth-generation fighter jet, a new tank design, etc. This is helpful to both countries. The Russians can defray the development costs and India gets a sophisticated weapon. Barring a few hiccups this collaboration will continue.

--

(Hari Sud is a retired vice president of C-I-L Inc., a former investment strategies analyst and international relations manager. A graduate of Punjab University and the University of Missouri, he has lived in Canada for the past 34 years. ©Copyright Hari Sud.)
 
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huh ? ICBM ? make sure they get off the ground first they get off and fall down at the same place ROFL.
 
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These are user trials:

The Hindu : Front Page : Anti-tank Nag missile test-fired successfully

Anti-tank Nag missile test-fired successfully

Y.Mallikarjun

It zeroed in precisely where the Army wanted

Army extremely satisfied with its performance

HYDERABAD: Third generation hit-to-kill anti-tank missile Nag was successfully test-fired in its full configuration at the Air Force ranges near Pokhran, Rajasthan, on Thursday. This marks the first in a series of winter trials to be conducted by the Army till this month-end.

Describing the trial as “100 per cent success,” Nag’s Programme Director and DRDL director P. Venugopalan told The Hindu that the missile carried a live warhead and caused extensive destruction to the stationary target, a derelict tank, covering a range of 3.3. km.

He said the missile, launched from its dedicated carrier, Namica, zeroed in precisely where the Army wanted, which was one of the main objectives of the trial. It was bang on target. It pierced through the tank’s armour at the point specified by the user.

The exercise was conducted as part of the final user trials, which would be carried out by the Army in different conditions.

The winter trials would be followed by summer trials and the missile was expected to be inducted into the Army shortly.

Mr. Venugopalan said that as part of the final user trials, a batch of missiles was being checked to ensure that whole system worked satisfactorily.

Nag’s project director S.S. Mishra said the Army was extremely satisfied with the performance of the missile, including the lethality of the warhead.

The missile, which could be fired during night and day, is equipped with “top attack” capability to nullify the explosive reactive armour (ERA) of a battle tank.

It would be fired against two moving and three fixed targets during December 28, 29 and 30 in Rajasthan.
 
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