Nuclear Triad In Place: India Gets K-4 SLBM Out Of The Closet

[Ankit Kumar 001]

Sir leave him, he is just out there to destroy the thread and convert it into India vs Pakistan one.
@amardeep mishra

 

[Echo_419]

Arming India


Nuclear Triad In Place: India Gets K-4 SLBM Out Of The Closet



By Vishal Thapar

NEW DELHI, SEP.23, 2015: For the first time, India has made the official declaration that its triad of nuclear weapons is in place. This significant announcement was made here today during the annual awards function of the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The veil was lifted off the hitherto secretive K-4 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), when a team of scientists from the Defense Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad, was presented a special award for the design and development of the K-4 missile.



The range of this missile is over 3,500 kilometers, and it will be for the foreseeable future India's principal weapon of deterrence which can be fired from under the sea. The K-series of missiles has been nomenclatured after former chief of the DRDO and a popular President of India A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, and will arm the Arihant class nuclear submarines (SSBN).

TheAt the event, DRDO Director-General S.Christopher also made an important declaration of intent that the Arihant will be inducted for operational deterrence patrol in 2015-16. It is at present undergoing sea trials.



"It (the K-4) has enabled our nation to achieve the crucial nuclear triad," the DRDO citation stated. It acknowledged significant contributions made by DRDL scientist M.S.R.Prasad and his 62-member team towards the development of this key missile "under the Advance Naval Systems Programme (ANSP)".



The other SLBM in the K series is the K-15, which is reported to have a range of about 750 kilometers. Both the K-4 and the K-15 have been successfully test-fired multiple times from underwater pontoons to establish their capability to exit the water and then hit a target on land.



The underwater deterrence is the most crucial and reliable leg of the nuclear triad, ensuring maximum survivability of nuclear weapons against a decapitating first strike by a nuclear adversary. A robust SLBM is a shot in the arm for India's nuclear deterrence, and gives more credibility to its doctrine of 'No First Use'.

He is an asset to the nation

 

[PARIKRAMA]

Having said that,K4 system is undoubtedly the most advanced strategic missile India has developed to this date,itz dimensions,degree of optimization and range will just boggle your mind

Hi,
can you be more specific about warhead size versus say range for K4? say for example at max load its 3500kms right.. so is max warhead load 1 tonne or 1.5 tonne. also considering smaller warhead weights say 180 kgs or even 500 kgs how much effectively the range changes? This is to understand say A5 is touted to reach 8K range with lower warhead weights so whats the max range with minimal warhead curve for K4?

Whats the max height attained by K4? does it leaves earth's atmosphere completely? Hows the re-entry tech as compared to say Agni 5 for example? Any idea whats the terminal speed ? or the acceleration of K4 ?

you talked about solid fuel tech being superior in chemical composition as well as perhaps in metallurgy say with missiles of russia. So where we stand when we compare versus say a russian missile.. anything to compare? Whats our research and progress in solid fuel field for missiles? Are we in a position to have a breakthrough fuel which can give more thrust for lesser amount or lighter weight? Can our missile body made up of steel handle such increased thrusts and pressure?

Is there systems and tech which we developed specifically for K4 which we are now using in other missiles to increase the tech benefit and perhaps add new features?

Thanks in advance.. Sorry asking too many as K4 data is way too secretive.. Hope you can answer and help us understand the missile more..

 

[$@rJen]

@PARIKRAMA Dude... Do you have any info or idea about the third test of this missile??

 

[Ankit Kumar 001]

@sarjenprabhu

Sir cannot say anything exclusively for this one but by end of November, a lot of missiles are lined up for tests.

 

[amardeep mishra]

Hi,
can you be more specific about warhead size versus say range for K4? say for example at max load its 3500kms right.. so is max warhead load 1 tonne or 1.5 tonne. also considering smaller warhead weights say 180 kgs or even 500 kgs how much effectively the range changes? This is to understand say A5 is touted to reach 8K range with lower warhead weights so whats the max range with minimal warhead curve for K4?

Hi friend!
I am afraid you didnt read my comment properly(nothing to offend you,but just stating my observation). Now, why do i feel so?- it is simple-
I clearly said that the nuclear warhead design and specifications are undoubtedly the most guarded secret.Not even people working on K-4 project know.During any meeting on warheads,all engineers except the project incharge and the high ranking officers of SFCs leave the room.So when that is the condition how can you expect me to be "specific" on lets say warhead size?I can at best provide you with speculation- something that you can also find in popular blogs(payload vs range graphs etc).I am here to discuss topics in some decent depths (based on published scientific literature) so that other members can benefit out of it.

you talked about solid fuel tech being superior in chemical composition as well as perhaps in metallurgy say with missiles of russia

Again you read my comment terribly wrong,read it again,i repeat russians are WAY WAY better than either india or china in metallurgy and that also means their solid fuel!
Just to highlight their superiority,i will quote the example of brahmos.As you clearly know ,a high Isp solid fuel is used in brahmos booster to boost it to a certain height and velocity before the main liquid ramjet kicks in.Now this "russian solid booster" is so good that it can sustain a hell lot of abuses like jerks,smashing on the ground,and yet remain structurally tight without developing even a single crack- that too for itz entire shelf life!
Their solid propellant is rubbery like any other yet it can sustain all those mechanical shocks without loosing structural integrity.And when you burn a small piece of this russian solid propellant it burns with a bright and hot flame!

 

[trident2010]

Any pics of K-4?

 

[hunter-killer]

excellent news.

 

[amardeep mishra]

Well Indians had to come up with something after Pakistan disclosed it's second strike capability. Talk of obsession

My dear friend your comment reeks of ignorance as you're utterly unaware of reality.You believe that India follows the pursuit of Pakistani achievement when India is #6 in total research output as against #43 of Pakistan.and India produces 12000PhDs as against 800 of Pakistan.
In terms of patents and intellectual property rights creation this difference is even more glaring

 

[Water Car Engineer]

Any pics of K-4?

 

[dadeechi]

And why are people discussing this if this information is supposed to be classified?

 

[Thorough Pro]

how many years to that eventuality? until that happens, there is no triad, then why this chest thumping in advance?

My dear friend, you'd need an under water platform to validate your missile.Arihant will eventually take K4 ,but when k4 was under development,arihant hadn't even begun the sea trials hence pontoons were choosen.
You need a proven submarine to test your new missile.
Having said that,K4 system is undoubtedly the most advanced strategic missile India has developed to this date,itz dimensions,degree of optimization and range will just boggle your mind

Forget all the research ranking and number of PhD's, cause that didn't do any good to 30 year old Tejas or Arjun or indigenous drones. Despite all that so called research and PhD's you are still buying your jets from wherever, Tanks from Russia and Drones from Israel. We make our own jets, Tanks and Drones. Research $'s and PhD's are a means to achieve an end, your problem is you keep counting the means and take that as achievement, we focus on the results, and they speak for themselves.

My dear friend your comment reeks of ignorance as you're utterly unaware of reality.You believe that India follows the pursuit of Pakistani achievement when India is #6 in total research output as against #43 of Pakistan.and India produces 12000PhDs as against 800 of Pakistan.
In terms of patents and intellectual property rights creation this difference is even more glaring

 

[Water Car Engineer]

Forget all the research ranking and number of PhD's, cause that didn't do any good to 30 year old Tejas or Arjun or indigenous drones. Despite all that so called research and PhD's you are still buying your jets from wherever, Tanks from Russia and Drones from Israel. We make our own jets, Tanks and Drones. Research $'s and PhD's are a means to achieve an end, your problem is you keep counting the means and take that as achievement, we focus on the results, and they speak for themselves.

Tejas and Arjun are both in production.


Do you know anything about what's happening recently in India's missile programs?

Agni 5 test fired/canistered and entered production in like 4 years.

K15 SLBM has had 10+ flawless tests and will be test fired out of SSBN INS Arihant in sea trials.

K4 had I think 1 or 2 flawless tests. Yes, it'll go just as fine.

This isnt the days of early Prithvis or early Agni series.

 

[sathya]

how many years to that eventuality? until that happens, there is no triad, then why this chest thumping in advance?






Forget all the research ranking and number of PhD's, cause that didn't do any good to 30 year old Tejas or Arjun or indigenous drones. Despite all that so called research and PhD's you are still buying your jets from wherever, Tanks from Russia and Drones from Israel. We make our own jets, Tanks and Drones. Research $'s and PhD's are a means to achieve an end, your problem is you keep counting the means and take that as achievement, we focus on the results, and they speak for themselves.

You are thinking the minor customisation done by your scientists as your product ?

Then why don't you start anything from scratch ?

You don't even a project like Arjun or LCA , for us to troll you..

 

[thestringshredder]

how many years to that eventuality? until that happens, there is no triad, then why this chest thumping in advance?

Forget all the research ranking and number of PhD's, cause that didn't do any good to 30 year old Tejas or Arjun or indigenous drones. Despite all that so called research and PhD's you are still buying your jets from wherever, Tanks from Russia and Drones from Israel. We make our own jets, Tanks and Drones. Research $'s and PhD's are a means to achieve an end, your problem is you keep counting the means and take that as achievement, we focus on the results, and they speak for themselves.

Which jet buddy??
American F-16 or Chinese JF-17??