India Missiles and Guided Munitions

Nilgiri

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Indian Cruise missiles such as:

- Brahmos* (original, NG, ER etc) (supersonic)
- Nirbhay (subsonic)
- Any new and upcoming programs (ALCM, SLCM etc)

and their underlying RnD and all subsequent developments to be gathered, discussed and archived here.

*Hypersonic category CM's such as Brahmos II are to be preferably archived in the Scramjet Thread given their relative frontier novelty:
 

Gessler

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Very impressive development imo
View attachment 24493

Left is agni-5(which had the most advanced RV till now)
Right is agni 1 prime(now it had snatched that title from agni-5)
From the pic it looks like agni 1p has MARV(maneuverable reentry vehicle)

We've had MaRV since Agni-2 in the 90s.

There's two ways to maneuver the re-entry vehicle.

a) use of control fins (older method, used on Agni-2 and still used on most Pakistani BMs)
b) use of Divert & Attitude Control System (DACS) thrusters (newer method, used on Indian BMs from Agni-3 onwards)

What I think is happening in the Agni-1P is that we're using a combination of DACS & Control fins to achieve a degree of terminal maneuverability that no previous BM could do. This might very well place Agni-1P in the same league as the DF-21D ASBM in terms of RV maneuverability.

Another apparent improvement is that thanks to a combination of factors including electronics, fuel & booster efficiency etc. we've managed to seriously reduce the size and weight of our BMs. Now we can build a 2,000-km MRBM that's only about half as big as how that class of missile used to be 20 years ago.

E5ZITxBUUAQR_tL.jpg
 

Gessler

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We've had MaRV since Agni-2 in the 90s.

There's two ways to maneuver the re-entry vehicle.

a) use of control fins (older method, used on Agni-2 and still used on most Pakistani BMs)
b) use of Divert & Attitude Control System (DACS) thrusters (newer method, used on Indian BMs from Agni-3 onwards)

What I think is happening in the Agni-1P is that we're using a combination of DACS & Control fins to achieve a degree of terminal maneuverability that no previous BM could do. This might very well place Agni-1P in the same league as the DF-21D ASBM in terms of RV maneuverability.

Another apparent improvement is that thanks to a combination of factors including electronics, fuel & booster efficiency etc. we've managed to seriously reduce the size and weight of our BMs. Now we can build a 2,000-km MRBM that's only about half as big as how that class of missile used to be 20 years ago.

View attachment 24921

To expand further on this, till now the peak of RV/Kill Vehicle maneuvering technology from DRDO was seen on the PDV anti-ballistic missile originally tested for the first time in 2014 (and the XSV-1 aka PDV Mk-2 ASAT weapon tested in 2019), and that relied entirely on an advanced DACS system just like SM-3 or GBI do...

3eKw0GVLRxDiCSpsgn-cFadf4tebCvGagjWgo3CiNbA.jpg

PDV Mk-1​

...and we know this DACS-aided maneuvering system (not just the physical elements like the thrusters, fuel injection etc. but the software too) is pretty good because its largely the same KKV that also sits on the ASAT missile, and had to perform terminal maneuvering & engagement on the target satellite moving at between 8-10 km/s relative speed. That takes extremely precise control of hardware & software on the part of the DACS.

H2019032766430.jpg

PDV Mk-2 / XSV-1​

Now the fact that you got a very good basis for a DACS-based RV (even if you disregard Agni-3,4 & 5 which all do as well) but are still going for the additional help provided by the fins definitely indicates that the maneuverability requirement of the intended use-case is pretty high...and the fins also mean that it's meant to maneuver inside the atmosphere i.e. terminal stage.

If its indeed a technology-demonstration platform for an ASBM (just like how the previous Agni Prime tested in 2011 was a tech-demo for Agni-4 & 5) the implications are far-reaching. A battery of these 2,000-km ASBMs deployed on one of the larger southern islands in the Andaman & Nicobar chain can target enemy carriers anywhere in the crucial transit regions of Malacca Strait, Singapore Strait & even Sunda Strait.

asbm2.JPG
 

Gessler

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There is nothing at all to suggest Dhanush is capable of, or ever intended, to target ships. Or land for that matter if speaking of intention.

SRBMs of this type are effective against air bases, ports & major infrastructure only when launched in salvos of AT LEAST 5-10 missiles, taking into account that some of them will inevitably fail to reach the target. No way 1-2 missiles with conventional payloads launched from ships can have any substantial effect. To strike at moving targets like ships you need two things:

a) highly maneuverable RV
b) a short flight time i.e. high velocity boost stage

The Prithvi (and by extension Dhanush) has neither. The Prithvi RV was designed in the 80s and changed little since then (other than in terms of various explosive payloads developed for it), and that means it preceded the first Indian MaRV (Agni-2 in 90s). Secondly, the fact that it uses a liquid-fueled booster means it simply cannot achieve the kind of ascent & boost-glide velocities that solid-fueled missiles can attain within the same amount of time.

The way I see it, the Dhanush had simply one purpose. To serve as a target missile for BMD tests by launching from the deep sea (beyond the distance where one could reasonably drag a pontoon) and allowing AAD/PAD ABMs to intercept over the ocean, alleviating the risk of debris falling on land (and also allowing ABMs to function as they would against enemy BMs launched over the same distance as they would in war time).
 

Nilgiri

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There is nothing at all to suggest Dhanush is capable of, or ever intended, to target ships. Or land for that matter if speaking of intention.

SRBMs of this type are effective against air bases, ports & major infrastructure only when launched in salvos of AT LEAST 5-10 missiles, taking into account that some of them will inevitably fail to reach the target. No way 1-2 missiles with conventional payloads launched from ships can have any substantial effect. To strike at moving targets like ships you need two things:

a) highly maneuverable RV
b) a short flight time i.e. high velocity boost stage

The Prithvi (and by extension Dhanush) has neither. The Prithvi RV was designed in the 80s and changed little since then (other than in terms of various explosive payloads developed for it), and that means it preceded the first Indian MaRV (Agni-2 in 90s). Secondly, the fact that it uses a liquid-fueled booster means it simply cannot achieve the kind of ascent & boost-glide velocities that solid-fueled missiles can attain within the same amount of time.

The way I see it, the Dhanush had simply one purpose. To serve as a target missile for BMD tests by launching from the deep sea (beyond the distance where one could reasonably drag a pontoon) and allowing AAD/PAD ABMs to intercept over the ocean, alleviating the risk of debris falling on land (and also allowing ABMs to function as they would against enemy BMs launched over the same distance as they would in war time).

I agree overall.

It was definitely primarily a test bed (with what was available at the time) to probably give a firm realised reference for the more robust+reliable systems and networks taking shape now. There are all kind of things you come across that you didn't think of when you do early non-conventional venture of a system with later sustained requirement in mind.
 

Nilgiri

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Moved brahmos test convo here....(cruise missile)
 

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India's Homegrown Guided Anti-Tank Missile Test-Fired Successfully​

DRDO said the low weight, fire and forget, anti-tank guided missile was launched from a man-portable launcher integrated with a thermal sight.​

All IndiaEdited by Chandrajit MitraUpdated: July 21, 2021 5:23 pm IST
by Taboola
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India's Homegrown Guided Anti-Tank Missile Test-Fired Successfully

The missile hit the target, a dummy tank, and destroyed it with precision, said the DRDO.



The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted the flight test of an indigenously developed man-portable anti-tank guided missile, providing a major boost to the Indian Army, the defence body said Wednesday.


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The low weight, fire and forget, anti-tank guided missile was launched from a man-portable launcher integrated with a thermal sight, news agency ANI quoted the DRDO as saying.

The missile hit the target, a dummy tank, in direct attack mode and destroyed it with precision, the DRDO said. “The test has validated the minimum range successfully,” it said.
Comments“All the mission objectives were met. The missile has already been successfully flight-tested for the maximum range. The missile is incorporated with state-of-the-art miniaturised infrared imaging seeker along with advanced avionics,” the DRDO said.

 

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