India Missiles and Guided Munitions

Rajendra Chola

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The manik engine is now progressing w.r.t ITCM.



BHUBANESWAR: India has finally achieved much needed success in its indigenous technology cruise missile (ITCM) programme validating the newly developed small turbo fan engine (STFE) in a fresh test from a defence facility off Odisha coast on Tuesday.

Defence sources said the ITCM, a technology demonstrator, was tested on subsonic cruise missile Nirbhay platform from launching complex III of the integrated test range (ITR) at about 10 am.

Equipped with the indigenously developed small turbo fan engine (STFE) Manik and an upgraded radio frequency seeker, the missile was test fired for a reduced range. The technology demonstrator that would pave the way for a long range land attack cruise missile, which is now under development, had failed as the engine reportedly developed snags during a trial on October 28 last year.

The domestic Manik engine with a thrust rating of 450 kgf has been designed and developed by Bengaluru-based Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) for cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. It is a generic twin spool engine without afterburner.

“The engine will be used in long range cruise missiles after a couple of more tests. Once the perfection is achieved, several variants of the cruise missile equipped with a turbo fan engine can be developed in future,” the sources added.

So far, four tests of ITCM technology demonstrator have been conducted since 2020. While two of the tests had failed, one trial on August 11, 2021 was partially successful.

Before the ITCM project, India had inducted subsonic cruise missile Nirbhay that was powered by a Russian NPO Saturn 36MT engine. India is planning to develop a 1,000 km range supersonic cruise missile for land attack and a 1,500 km range naval version with the new Manik engine.

@Gessler @Rajendra Chola et al.

Finally someone is pushing Indian engine on our cruise missiles. Guess some bureaucrat took a look at the cost of the missile with foreign import engine and decided to develop new one from scratch.

India still has unspecified number of Nirbhay missiles with old Russian engine inducted. They were activated during Galwan clash.
 

Gessler

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BMD & ASAT missile engagement envelope (altitude)

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Zapper

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Air launched version of the Brahmos can't be offered atm unless they have a heavy fighter like the Su-30 or F-15 size which also requires modification of the center pylon capable of carrying the current version's weight

Might as well create an anti-ship version of Astra AAM eliminating the need for Russian approvals and pitch it to those interested in the air-launched version of Brahmos

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Nilgiri

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Air launched version of the Brahmos can't be offered atm unless they have a heavy fighter like the Su-30 or F-15 size which also requires modification of the center pylon capable of carrying the current version's weight

Might as well create an anti-ship version of Astra AAM eliminating the need for Russian approvals and pitch it to those interested in the air-launched version of Brahmos

View attachment 56032

NASM will have follow up longer range variants from current short range version for general AShM portfolio from India.

Air launched and longer range brahmos etc wont be offered internationally for quite some time as these have larger demand within India first that will take up their production capacity for a while.

The exports will focus around the original (export ~ 290 km MTCR) variant like what the Philippines acquired.
 

Nilgiri

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When something like this is launched a few thousand kilometres, how hard is it to be shot down?

Well given the speeds of (hypersonic) re-entry involved with ballistics, they are lot harder to shoot down than other aerial targets.

A whole new class of sensors and sensor networks are required along with the computing power (for calculating firing solution interception) and missile systems for final interception at whichever stage of trajectory that is optimal and/or possible.

Essentially a new level of air defence system (involving space as well).

There are various design challenges in all of this.

Take just one, sensor networks (over the horizon radars etc) are aided by the ionosphere when it comes to early warning (by essentially reflecting certain high frequency radar waveforms between the ground/sea and the ionosphere)....but are also encumbered by it for ground based sensing needs when it comes to detection+tracking above the ionosphere (say for activation of the engagement radars as early as possible)...and then the need to shift and locate some of these sensors in space themselves.

Then the latter's final discernment of real incoming target versus onboard ballistic penetration aids like chaff and decoys etc....and also the ability of non-ballistic trajectories (depressed using thrusters, glide and so on) that may be employed by the incoming target.

Interceptor missiles also need to be resistant to penetration aid jammers and so on.

Addressing all these issues needs lot of research, resources spent and continued re-investment.

These make what is known as ballistic missile defence.

The thread concerning India's approach is here:

This summary here of the various systems involved gives a bit more that you can look more into as to your interest:
 

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