India Missiles and Guided Munitions

[Gary]

@Nilgiri @Paro @#comcom et al.....

This one weapon has significant implications for the whole region for a simple reason. Range. The missile has a max range of 650 km !!
Compare that with the 22km ranged ASROC or the Japanese 30km ranges rocket torpedo. There is no analogue to the SMART in the world today.

This range accompanied by the excellent detection capabilities of the Kamorta class ASW corvette, Dornier Do-228, Naval ALH, Boeing P-8I Neptunes & the soon to be acquired Guardian drones, we will be taking submarine warfare to a whole new level. I agree with Saurav Jha: "Wide area ASW... just got a lot wider."

We can let the sensors detect the subs & fire missiles from land. If the land is the Andamans, the entire Malacca strait is in range. You get the drift. I do think that the destroyers will carry these too. There is a lot of free deck space on the Kolkata class.

More photos :
View attachment 2795
View attachment 2796
The missile at the end of its supersonic flight will release a torpedo, which will decelerate to subsonic speeds and hit the water. The torpedo is probably the NSTL/DRDO Advanced Light weight Torpedo(ALWT).

The ALWT is on par or better than most lightweight torpedoes out there in the world today. The only thing left to improve upon is the maximum depth. Right now operating depth is at 600 m, assuming a safety factor of 0.8 the maximum attainable depth is 750 m. There are torpedoes out there with 1000 m maximum depth. Range and speed will be further improved when the under-development high energy density batteries come. DRDO/NSTL are also working on super-cavitation technologies for underwater weaponry.

View attachment 2797
View attachment 2800
View attachment 2799
View attachment 2798

So it's UKSK VLS compatible, am I right?

 

[Gautam]

So it's UKSK VLS compatible, am I right?

Remember the recent Shaurya missile test ? There was no photos or videos from that test. But we were told the new version of the missile is "lighter & sleeker" while maintaining the performance of the old version. The old version had tech from 2010s and was bigger than the Brahmos. This is one of the reasons our surface ships couldn't carry the Shaurya missile. There was a need to cut the missile down to the size of the Brahmos to make it compatible with the Navy's Brahmos VLS while not degrading its performance. With the recent test we have achieved that.

Now it seems that the SMART is based off of the new version of Shaurya missile. This makes things very interesting, the SMART and the new version of Shaurya would both be VLS compatible. We should have more details on this soon.

As for the Russian UKSK VLS, the Brahmos VLS was based on that. I think the initial models were purchased from Russia. Later there were some design modifications made & the production was handled to L&T Naval. I don't know what modifications were made. It seems the Russians are going to move away from the UKSK themselves. IN probably wants to use the L&T produced VLS as the Universal VLS, almost all new munitions would fit in to that VLS. This is also why our ships had so few VLS despite a ton of deck space sitting empty. The Navy wanted the missiles to be proven before committing to getting any new VLS.

 

[Anmdt]

@Nilgiri @Paro @#comcom et al.....

This one weapon has significant implications for the whole region for a simple reason. Range. The missile has a max range of 650 km !!
Compare that with the 22km ranged ASROC or the Japanese 30km ranges rocket torpedo. There is no analogue to the SMART in the world today.

This range accompanied by the excellent detection capabilities of the Kamorta class ASW corvette, Dornier Do-228, Naval ALH, Boeing P-8I Neptunes & the soon to be acquired Guardian drones, we will be taking submarine warfare to a whole new level. I agree with Saurav Jha: "Wide area ASW... just got a lot wider."

We can let the sensors detect the subs & fire missiles from land. If the land is the Andamans, the entire Malacca strait is in range. You get the drift. I do think that the destroyers will carry these too. There is a lot of free deck space on the Kolkata class.

More photos :
View attachment 2795
View attachment 2796
The missile at the end of its supersonic flight will release a torpedo, which will decelerate to subsonic speeds and hit the water. The torpedo is probably the NSTL/DRDO Advanced Light weight Torpedo(ALWT).

The ALWT is on par or better than most lightweight torpedoes out there in the world today. The only thing left to improve upon is the maximum depth. Right now operating depth is at 600 m, assuming a safety factor of 0.8 the maximum attainable depth is 750 m. There are torpedoes out there with 1000 m maximum depth. Range and speed will be further improved when the under-development high energy density batteries come. DRDO/NSTL are also working on super-cavitation technologies for underwater weaponry.

View attachment 2797
View attachment 2800
View attachment 2799
View attachment 2798

The development is huge, but after all you would need to detect these submarines before engaging those -by MPA or ASW patrol ships-, and especially if a submarine is travelling at the depth you have mentioned, technically there is no way of detecting a submarine and classifying whether is friend or foe.
So most of MPAs are capable of firing torpedoes which also applies for ASW ships, and it is more secure of way deploying torpedoes to avoid friendly fire (hence, for the torpedoes fired from ships or mainly for submarines you have chance to update the target for a limited time). In this context i am more leaned to hunter-killer UUV or USVs which can track the target for a long time, remaining submerged and giving upper hand to engage at any particular time.
Finally, the development is huge, and yet unpractical with applied conventional methods for detection of the submarines. I am more in favor of deploying this technique to launch hyper-sonic Anti-ship missiles at longer distances (similar to the DF-21 or in hybrid rocket-airbreathing as in torpedo example).

 

[Gautam]

The development is huge, but after all you would need to detect these submarines before engaging those -by MPA or ASW patrol ships-, and especially if a submarine is travelling at the depth you have mentioned, technically there is no way of detecting a submarine and classifying whether is friend or foe.
So most of MPAs are capable of firing torpedoes which also applies for ASW ships, and it is more secure of way deploying torpedoes to avoid friendly fire (hence, for the torpedoes fired from ships or mainly for submarines you have chance to update the target for a limited time). In this context i am more leaned to hunter-killer UUV or USVs which can track the target for a long time, remaining submerged and giving upper hand to engage at any particular time.

The number of subs we have is ridiculously low & we operate them mostly in a limited area. Thus identifying and tracking friendly subs is a lot easier. The Navy maintains 2 ship/sub data centres to actively track all ships/subs in our operating domains(Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, Arabian sea, Andaman sea etc) in real time. Similar data centres also exists for white shipping(cargo ship tracking) and it is open for multilateral partnership. We have many nations including the QUAD nations actively participating in white data sharing. How much data is shared in case of military vessels is not known in public.

There was an agreement a few years back between the Japanese & Indian govt. to deploy sea bed based sensor array in the Bay of Bengal basin leading all the way to the mouth of the Malacca. The details of the agreement is not known in public, but as a part of that deal Japanese company NEC was contracted by the Indian govt. to build and lay an underwater Gigabit Passive Optical Network(GPON) connecting mainland India and Andaman Islands. The sea based optic fibre network is to relay military info from Vizag to Andamans & as a civilian application to get faster internet on the islands. The project has been completed and was inaugurated some time back.

India is actively working on UUVs for persistent sub tracking too. Here are some UUVs under trials :

Indian shipyard GRSE has signed a deal with Elbit for making Seagull USV in India. The Seagull has ASW capabilities too :

The Navy's P-8Is are regularly deployed from the Andamans. The runways are being extended in many places. Then there is the logistics agreement with Australia which might give us access to the Coco Islands. We also acquired some CENTRIX equipment from the US allowing American and Indian navies to share info is secure way.

By the development all around it seems a large sub detection net is being woven. The net is ineffective without weapons to fire. I don't think the Navy plans on using these things beyond their operating domains, like say in SCS, without a sensor network backing it up. But in those domains it will be pretty effective. Just my take.

I am more in favor of deploying this technique to launch hyper-sonic Anti-ship missiles at longer distances (similar to the DF-21 or in hybrid rocket-airbreathing as in torpedo example).

This is exactly what the Shaurya missile does. That will play the role of AShBM, though its not exactly a BM.

 

[Anmdt]

Thus identifying and tracking friendly subs is a lot easier. The Navy maintains 2 ship/sub data centres to actively track all ships/subs in our operating domains(Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, Arabian sea, Andaman sea etc) in real time

Just to tell, submarines usually tend to be silent (in all the ways including communications) so they are technically a receiver, you may not exactly know where your submarine located at but roughly you know where it is destined to be operated -the path, area-, even submarine itself may have erroneous information regarding to its own location due to cumulative Inertial GPS errors. And i can claim you wouldn't desire to be able to track your own sub, if you can track it then you can be assured the enemy also can.

I rather quoted this especially for the part related with the depth of the torpedo and the parts related with ASW, since i still think the best chances of detecting and engaging a submarine is when it surfaces to breathe or transmit data with Satellites- correct its location - or dispatch signals with ELF (very rare to happen) and last, when it maneuvers, there is hell of a noise when a submarine conduct maneuvers**. Apart from these, aiming at a fully submerged submarine at greater distances poses a risk to the friendly assets for the reasons mentioned above, and also related with homing techniques of torpedo, and the worse makes the target submarine aware of being detected thus taking counter-measures which includes leaving the theater.
Otherwise, i believe this is an effective way of delivering the torpedo against surface assets, without revealing position of your subs since it is a lot easier to detect and engage surface threats from underwater, and also because a single well prepared torpedo can render any ship inoperable.

** this is the sole reason why it makes sense to install arrays of network connected passive sensors, let them be acoustic or EM sensors. A steadily operating modern submarine is hardly can be detected, but a maneuvering one has that particular noise pattern that can be picked up in noisy coastal areas-sea routes..

The net is ineffective without weapons to fire

Again, sometimes when you detect a submarine you let it roam around without any engagement, and you get the upper hand. Especially for the case you have referred, when observing your neighboring seas in defensive mode.

 

[Gautam]

And i can claim you wouldn't desire to be able to track your own sub, if you can track it then you can be assured the enemy also can.

When I say track I don't mean the exact location but rather a locale where the sub is present. How would we order a nuclear strike from SSBNs if we cant talk to them ? ELF signals released from the sea-surface aren't the only way of communicating with bases. Secure comms can be established from sea-bed too. That's how our SSNs & SSBNs communicate, SSKs are a different story. Depths of 600+ m are attainable by nuclear subs, conventional subs don't usually operate this low. Nuclear subs are a lot noisier and show up very visibly on a Magnetic Anomaly Detector(MAD) sensor of the P-8Is.

A lot of ASW depends on terrain. In a congested area like the Malacca its is difficult to use many classic submarine tactics like surfacing to use satcoms or ELF that you could use in more open waters with nobody around. Here there are way too many eyes and ears nearby, you will be spotted very quickly. Also there isn't a lot of room for a sudden sprint in case of emergency. Operating there is difficult for intruding subs, its an defenders advantage. Which is why I believe it will be effective. But I am no expert feel free to disagree.

Much of our underwater sensor suite today is sonar based. It is going to be augmented by laser based detection systems soon. This one I believe is already in use :

Laser Based Underwater Target Detection System (LBUTDS) with multidirectional target detection capability. LBUTDS is placed at the sea bed to take LIDAR imagery of subs from below. Operate this for long enough & you should have a sizable threat library of all subs that operate nearby. Unlike SONARs which tells you something is there, LIDARs tell you what exactly is there.

Interesting convo some USN guys are having about the SMART :

I agree with that confidence part. Why else will you develop something like this ? Lets see if something new turns up.

Otherwise, i believe this is an effective way of delivering the torpedo against surface assets, without revealing position of your subs since it is a lot easier to detect and engage surface threats from underwater, and also because a single well prepared torpedo can render any ship inoperable.

Surface ships are not the primary target of this missile. But it can be done.

 

[Anmdt]

Secure comms can be established from sea-bed too. That's how our SSNs & SSBNs communicate, SSKs are a different story. Depths of 600+ m are attainable by nuclear subs, conventional subs don't usually operate this low. Nuclear subs are a lot noisier and show up very visibly on a Magnetic Anomaly Detector(MAD) sensor of the P-8Is

This myth has been around for quite and was true for pre 2000 nuclear subs which mainly lacked a low power cycle and many other stuff which will derail the topic and will go out of my profession,but modern nuclear submarines are quieter than the SSKs, rather it is hard to generalize that nuclear submarines are more noisy or appears stronger on MAD since this can be proven wrong at particular comparisons and verified at the others. In fewer words, a nuclear sub can carry a more novel and more expensive active demagnetization system while a SSK lacks of it.

Laser Based Underwater Target Detection System (LBUTDS) with multidirectional target detection capability. LBUTDS is placed at the sea bed to take LIDAR imagery of subs from below. Operate this for long enough & you should have a sizable threat library of all subs that operate nearby. Unlike SONARs which tells you something is there, LIDARs tell you what exactly is there.

This is what i refer to, when i have earlier stated "conventional methods of submarine detection" is ineffective to deploy this missile, this is not conventional thus quite effective.

Secure comms can be established from sea-bed too. That's how our SSNs & SSBNs communicate

My point is, you can apply this method restricted to the some areas which is under your or your allies' control. While SATCOM and ELF applies to the in wider area (eventhough ELF is one-way).

I agree with that confidence part. Why else will you develop something like this ? Lets see if something new turns up.

That conversation is all i try to imply but in fewer words.

 

[Rajendra Chola]

Good to see some innovation coming from Indian defence circles. The Smart system if deployed in coordination with assistant systems would be an game changer.

 

[Isa Khan]

https://www.facebook.com/Livefist/posts/3444852658886666

https://www.facebook.com/Livefist/posts/3444805172224748

 

[Gautam]

Footage of the recent test. The eventual targeted range of Brahmos is 800km + :

Brahmos's nose cap :

 

[Combat-Master]

Footage of the recent test. The eventual targeted range of Brahmos is 800km + :

Brahmos's nose cap :
View attachment 2906

Fascinating piece of kit!

 

[Gautam]

NGARM/Rudram was tested today :

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1314469867991388161

It has a bundled seeker system. Essentially 2 seekers in one. Both work in different frequencies bands, thus allowing the users to target a wider variety of enemy radar systems.

Pics of seekers and electronics :

Cut-away of the missile. The range is 100-150 kms depending on the speed of the launch aircraft and also the nature of the target.

The NGARM uses a specially designed launcher :

The launcher has 2 crank arms that gradually immerse the missile on to the free stream of air before releasing the missile. This is because missiles doing a steep dive are likely to be blown off by incoming free stream, which is significantly faster than the boundary layer flow, if dropped directly. This effect is not seen in heavier missiles like Brahmos ALCM.

This allows the missile to be fired directly down, even rearwards, very quickly if needed. Here is a small video showing the launcher in action :

final_5f7e2fe19eba3100634ce174_582692

Video made on Kapwing

kapwi.ng

 

[Test7]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1314514509864853505

 

[Gautam]

Pics from today's test :

The missile was tracked from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) off coast of Balasore, Odisha. The target was a sea based one. Possibly an unmanned surface vessel with a radiation source.

 

[Nilgiri]

Pics from today's test :

View attachment 3540
View attachment 3541
View attachment 3542
View attachment 3543
The missile was tracked from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) off coast of Balasore, Odisha. The target was a sea based one. Possibly an unmanned surface vessel with a radiation source.

I was waiting for update on NGARM (for a while since last year), and it finally happened. Great news

 

[Gautam]

Oh man !

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1315547516708876289

Well at least the new engine flew for 8 mins. We will know more soon.

 

[Nilgiri]

Oh man !

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1315547516708876289

Well at least the new engine flew for 8 mins. We will know more soon.
View attachment 3978
View attachment 3979

The previous validated tests turbofan was Russian?

I guess the schedule is being somewhat rushed as if this is engine problem, as it would have been picked up in testing

 

[Gautam]

The previous validated tests turbofan was Russian?

Turbojet not turbofan. It was a NPO Saturn 36MT.

The new engine is a bit more powerful and its a turbofan. The Guidance & Navigation Control (GNC) had to adjust to the new engine. This added with the fact that we were going to try out the sea-skimming feature meant increased work load on the on-board computer(OBC).

We tested the sea-skimming on the previous test. Here is the video :

I guess the schedule is being somewhat rushed as if this is engine problem, as it would have been picked up in testing

The engine used on the missile apparently wasn't ground tested first. This is just a poor safety procedure. I reckon the GNC could adjust to the new engine until 8 mins of flight. Then we entered the sea skimming mode. Here you have to adjust flight altitude and direction based on inputs from the seeker, else you will crash on the ground.

The workload was probably too much for the OBC and the missile went off track. Then the mission controller pushed the kill switch and that was the end.

The Nirbhay project is supposed to be a TD. The missile was never meant to enter service, the tech developed from this project will go on the the ITCM project. The ITCM was supposed be a Nirbhay like missile with longer operational range. Nirbhay can hit at a range of 1000km. That's what was so confusing about the Nirbhay being deployed. The TD is being pushed to emergency service.

We will know more soon I guess. The NOTAM issued is valid till tomorrow. If its a software glitch, maybe they can fix it and have another test tomorrow. I wouldn't say this normally, but DRDO appears to be in a testing overdrive these days. We can hope, can't we ?

 

[Test7]

DRDO Aborts 800km Nirbhay Cruise Missile Test after Launch​

Nirbhay cruise missile

India’s state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) aborted 800km-range Nirbhay cruise missile minutes after its launch on Monday.

“The missile was fired at 10.30 am from the (Odisha) testing facility. But the missile developed a snag and the trial was aborted 8 minutes later,” a government official was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

The subsonic missile fired from Odisha’s test facility. Nirbhay was the 10th missile to be fired by the DRDO during the last 35 days.
Some Nirbhay missiles were earlier moved to the border with China. Mondy’s tests were conducted as part of an effort by the DRDO to expedite development of missiles along the LAC amid the stand-off with China at multiple points in East Ladakh.

“Scientists needed to analyse the data generated during the tests to figure the tweaks that may be needed to be carried out,” officials said.
India is said to be working on an Anti-Ship Missile and Air-Launched Cruise Missile.

Powered by a solid rocket motor booster developed by the Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), the Nirbhay has an operational range of 1000 km.
Nirbhay missile can travel with a turbofan or turbojet engine and is guided by a highly advanced inertial navigation system indigenously developed by the Research Centre Imarat (RCI).

The two-stage missile is 6 metre long, 0.52 metre wide with a wing span of 2.7 metre. It can carry a warhead of 200 kg to 300 kg at a speed of 0.6 to 0.7 Mach. Its launch weight is about 1500 kg.

Defense World

View News at Defense World

www.defenseworld.net

 

[Blackeyes90]

India has joined a select group of nations to indigenously develop, and now test, an air-launched radar-busting anti-radiation missile that should provide a significant boost to its air force’s air defense-suppression capabilities. The latest test launch of the weapon, which has now been named Rudram-1, took place today.

In a trial that the country’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) ran, the Rudram-1 was launched from an Indian Air Force (IAF) Su-30MKI Flanker multi-role fighter on October 9, 2020. The launch took place over the integrated test range at Balasore in the Bay of Bengal, off the coast of the eastern state of Odisha.


In a statement, the Indian Ministry of Defence said the Rudram-1 struck a radar-emitting target located on Wheeler Island with “pinpoint accuracy,” while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO on what he called a “remarkable achievement.”

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1314483549639045121

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1314503865769709570

The Rudram-1, which was previously known as the New Generation Anti-Radiation Missile (NGARM), is India’s first indigenously developed anti-radiation missile. Work on the radar-killing weapon apparently began in 2012. Previously, the IAF has relied upon foreign-made anti-radiation missiles, primarily provided by Russia.

The application of a name, Rudram-1, has been taken by Indian defense observers to mean that the missile is now on the verge of frontline service.

INDIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
The Su-30MKI launches the Rudram-1 missile over the Balasore test range.
Anti-radiation missiles like the Rudram-1 are intended to destroy enemy radars, air defense systems, and communication networks, denying them the ability to engage aerial targets. This is typically described as “knocking down the door” in the first phase of an offensive aerial campaign.
Like most weapons in its class, the Rudram-1 features a passive-homing guidance system, in which the onboard radar seeker homes in on a radiation-emitting target. “The passive homing head can detect, classify and engage targets over a wide band of frequencies as programmed,” the defense ministry said in a statement. “The missile is a potent weapon for IAF for suppression of enemy air defense effectively from large standoff ranges.”

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1314503582645800960

According to Indian media reports, the new missile has a speed of Mach 2 and a range of up to 155 miles. The weapon is supposedly suitable for launch from aircraft flying at altitudes anywhere between 1,640 and 49,000 feet.
If the range figure is correct, this could mean the Rudram-1 has a significantly greater reach than the AGM-88E AARGM (Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile), which is the latest U.S.-made missile of its kind to enter service. Thought to be capable of striking targets at around 80 miles, the AARGM flies at a similar speed to the Rudram-1. It’s noteworthy, too, that the U.S. is now working on a version of the AARGM that will fly longer still, a program that The War Zone talks about in detail here.
The Russian-made Kh-31P, known to NATO as AS-17 Krypton, and which currently equips IAF Su-30MKI jets, has a reported range of around 68 miles, although it flies a good deal faster, capable of reaching around Mach 3.5.
On the other hand, some commentators in India are attributing a considerably shorter range to the new weapon, of between 62 and almost 93 miles.

INDIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Seconds after launch, the Rudram-1 speeds away toward its target.
A report in the Hindustan Times indicates that the new missile can be locked on to a target before or after launch. A lock-on after launch (LOAL) mode would be useful especially for hitting targets at greater standoff range, offering the possibility of a pre-emptive attack on enemy radar installations from a much safer distance.
That same source gives the range of the Rudram-1’s seeker as 62 miles, which suggests that any target beyond this radius would have to be engaged using the LOAL mode. This, however, relies on the emitter’s type and its general location being known in advance, and that the hostile radar is switched on for at least some of the time during the engagement. The missile would fly out to the target using its GPS-aided inertial navigation system before its passive seeker took over.

The Indian Ministry of Defence says that, once testing is completed, the Rudram-1 will be added to the Su-30MKI’s armory. It’s not known if there are plans to add it subsequently to other aircraft, too, but the Flanker is clearly the platform of choice for new weaponry, including the Astra beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, and the air-launched version of the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile.

It’s also an important addition to India arsenal given that regional rival Pakistan received the MAR-1 anti-radiation missile that was developed by the Mectron company of Brazil. Following the signature of an acquisition contract in 2008, the missile was integrated with the Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF’s) upgraded Mirage III/V ground-attack fighters, but apparently not on the JF-17 Thunder multi-role fighter.

As well as demonstrating a new capability to Pakistan, the test of the missile could be a signal to China, with which India is currently locked in a border dispute in Ladakh, a Himalayan border area in the Kashmir region. It’s perhaps no coincidence that the test of the Rudram-1 comes in the wake of China deploying air defense assets to that region.

After all, the Rudram-1 is not the first indigenous weapon to be tested by India in recent weeks. It follows hot on the heels of a very long-range supersonic anti-submarine missile, and a hypersonic scramjet-powered vehicle. Other weapons tested of late comprise an extended-range version of the Brahmos cruise missile, a laser-guided anti-tank missile, and the nuclear-capable Shaurya ballistic missile.

Clearly, India is not only extremely active on a host of advanced missile programs but is also especially keen to publicize its successes in a field in which it’s still a relative newcomer.

India’s First Indigenous Air-Launched Radar-Killing Missile Is Headed For Service

The test conducted over the Bay of Bengal saw the long-range Rudram-1 launched from a Su-30MKI fighter jet.

www.thedrive.com