India Missiles and Guided Munitions

[Philip the Arab]

Were the Milan-2Ts a interim solution?

 

[Nilgiri]

Were the Milan-2Ts a interim solution?

Pretty much.

There is lot more dev (and testing + cert) that needs to be done on this indigenous platform for it to then get economy of scale order from MOD.

Given seemingly entrenched nature of MOD's bureaucracy and lobbying networks, that could all take some years on top of what one would otherwise expect.... like it already has and will on other projects.

Imagine a superobese guy adjusting to new exercise regimen/pressure imposed (from reality that is catching up more and more on everyone else). He got used to big ole cushy lifestyle before (in mind, heart, body all of it) and its not going to be easy to get him lean and mean esp in relative "overnight" time.

No amount of brochures and program names (i.e simple array of treadmills and such) is really going to bring results quickly. The research labs, talented teams are all the (far better + disciplined) "can do" coaches, motivators and instructors if you will. The private conglomerates are the (far improving) supply of gym facilities themselves.

The intent is to manufacture some deep aura of change with that...while working with the fat reluctant slob that we got.

I can understand the newer intent/approach in the end....but its not going fast enough regardless.

 

[Nilgiri]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1418555059340816387

 

[Nilgiri]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1418513691989864451

 

[Gessler]

Thanks to GODOFPARADOXES on Twitter for the picture with notations!

Some details on India's Shaurya quasi-ballistic missile (and its SLBM cousin K-15):

The tandem fins are designed to guide the airflow in such a way that it forces the missile airframe to roll continuously, helping to evenly distribute the immense heat generated on the body as the missile cruises inside the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds of around Mach 7.5

Shaurya/K-15 is considered quasi-ballistic because it can fly in a depressed trajectory staying inside the atmosphere, the downside is that in this mode it's range in reduced from 1900km to 750km. The Arihant-class SSBNs can carry 4 x of the larger traditional SLBMs like K-4, or up to 12 x of these quasi-ballistic types with triple-packing (or a combination of the two like 3 x K4s and 3 x K15s).

The next 2 SSBNs of the Arihant-class which are considered to be bigger than the first 2 (evidenced by emergence of a larger submarine shelter at SBC, Vizag) can potentially carry up to 24 x of these K15s (or 8 x K4s or again, a combination).

@Nilgiri @Cabatli_53 @T-123456 @Kartal1 @Test7

 

[Nilgiri]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1420607280676950018

 

[crixus]

A bit clear pic of Akash NG

 

[Gessler]

A collage of new-generation surface-to-air systems developed by India's DRDO (not to scale):

From left to right:

AAD - Endo-atmospheric ABM with max ~30km apogee. First tested 2007, development complete.

PDV - Exo-atmospheric ABM with max ~150km apogee. First tested 2014, development largely complete.
Includes IR-guided Kinetic Kill Vehicle (KKV). The XSV-1/PDV Mk-2 ASAT weapon tested in 2019 is basically this with an additional booster stage. AAD & PDV together comprise Phase-I of Indian BMD.

AD-1 - In development, equivalent to Aster-30 Block-II in terms of BMD capabilities.

AD-2 - In development, equivalent to SM-3. AD-1/2 comprise Phase-II of BMD, primarily designed for
ship-based usage.

XRSAM - Long-range SAM, believed to be Akash-NG with additional booster stage. In development.

Akash-NG - Next-gen version of Akash (doesn't really have anything in common with the old one besides
the name), medium-range SAM for land-based usage. First tested 2020, still in development.

STAR - Supersonic Target powered by air-breathing Ramjet motor. Designed to simulate cruise missiles
like the Chinese YJ-12/YJ-18 in training air-defence crews to engage fast moving targets. Still
in development.

 

[Nilgiri]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1423882735672721409

 

[Rajendra Chola]

@Nilgiri @Paro et al.....

A tender is out calling for the development of a 140 ton chassis missile launcher likely for the newest member of the Agni family. View attachment 2055

It will be significantly bigger than the Agni V. The Agni V itself is no small thing :
View attachment 2057
View attachment 2058

Agni V is a 50 ton missile with ~8, 000 km range. The new one, probably named Agni VI will be 70 tons with range around 12, 000 km. Like the Agni V, the new missile will also be fired from a cannister. The cannister design has been out for a year :
View attachment 2054

Look at the size: 20 m in length and 3.2 m in diameter. The Agni V, for comparison, is 17.5 m in length and 2 m in diameter. The new ICBM is longer & fatter than Agni V. The larger diameter will allow packing in MIRVs & decoys. We might even see some Hypersonic Glide Vehicles in the future, work is ongoing there.

2 years back this photo of a tractor of Transporter Erector Launcher(TEL) came up. It was under going trials in an Army artillery range at that time. The wheel arrangement is pretty unique and unlike anything I've seen before. My personal take is that this was made in a DRDO-Indian auto-industry collaboration. You can see the DRDO logo on the cabin door. Then it suddenly disappeared, don't know what happened to it after that. Maybe this truck was meant to carry the new ICBM, or maybe its just a prototype. It looks a little too small to carry that missile.
View attachment 2056

It makes sense in a way. The truck is ready, the cannister is ready, the missile is ready for flight tests I suppose. The only thing missing is the erector and launcher.

I think the Agni 6 is an MIRVed A5 with similar range. As far as I know and understand, the scientific community has not received clearance to test very long range missiles. Even 8k got A5 is possible with an smaller yield payload. So A6 has to be heavy/probably bit long to carry more payload for the same distance A5 can travel.

Or the new technologies developed for Agni Prime project which reduced the weight of the missiles significantly can also be employed.

 

[Gessler]

I think the Agni 6 is an MIRVed A5 with similar range. As far as I know and understand, the scientific community has not received clearance to test very long range missiles. Even 8k got A5 is possible with an smaller yield payload. So A6 has to be heavy/probably bit long to carry more payload for the same distance A5 can travel.

Or the new technologies developed for Agni Prime project which reduced the weight of the missiles significantly can also be employed.

the scientific community has not received clearance to test very long range missiles.

Agreed. There is pretty obviously some understanding in place not to exceed the 5,500-km mark for land-based missiles (which would officially make them ICBMs) so its very unlikely A6 would be advertised as anything more than a 5,000-km 'LRBM' on paper.

Technology-wise its going to be an evolutionary improvement over the A5 (who's tech is now already a decade-old), mainly in the fields of materials, propulsion, burn efficiency & overall reduction of kg-to-km ratio. The improvements seen in recent A-1P are pretty substantial, so I would feel confident in saying even a missile that's same overall size & weight (margin of few meters & ~6 tons) can achieve a significantly longer potential range than A5 ever theoretically could (inversely proportional to payload capacity as well).

The old slides I believe are still relevant in showing the general direction of A6 development:

Roughly same size & small but significant increase in weight (5-10 tons), but same quoted range (on paper).

The biggest improvement will be felt in the payload capacity with MIRV bus - where we may see a THREE-FOLD increase in capacity. The A6 is very likely to be extremely similar in profile, mass & payload capacity to the Trident-II D5 missile. If we make the assumption that India's missile tech of today is approaching that of the US in late-80s/early-90s (in terms of propulsion efficiency mainly) then we could make the assumption that A6 should theoretically be capable of similar maximum potential range as the Trident-II i.e. about 12,000-km.

The only Indian missiles that can officially qualify as ICBMs would have to be the upcoming SLBMs - and only because they need to have at least 6,000-km on paper to show major Chinese cities as within reach from the wider Indian Ocean (outside of Bay of Bengal), and the slides definitely show that intent, though they too can theoretically be capable of much farther ranges:

 

[Gessler]

Getting reports that the Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile (ITCM), derived from Nirbhay LACM has been tested today off Odisha coast.

ITCM is basically Nirbhay with some modifications - biggest being the Russian NPO Saturn 36MT is replaced with indigenous Manik turbofan (previously called STFE) developed by GTRE.

Manik/STFE is a 450kgf (4.4kN) turbofan similar in thrust class to the Williams International F107-WR-402 (3.1kN) that powers the US Tomahawk missiles.

 

[Nilgiri]

Getting reports that the Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile (ITCM), derived from Nirbhay LACM has been tested today off Odisha coast.

ITCM is basically Nirbhay with some modifications - biggest being the Russian NPO Saturn 36MT is replaced with indigenous Manik turbofan (previously called STFE) developed by GTRE.

Manik/STFE is a 450kgf (4.4kN) turbofan similar in thrust class to the Williams International F107-WR-402 (3.1kN) that powers the US Tomahawk missiles.

View attachment 27650

@Philip the Arab

 

[Philip the Arab]

@Philip the Arab

Very good to know that India is trying to replace foreign subsystems for indigenous subsystems.

Do you know the planned range of Nirbhay?

 

[Nilgiri]

Very good to know that India is trying to replace foreign subsystems for indigenous subsystems.

Do you know the planned range of Nirbhay?

I think the current version is 1000km range.

Further versions I have heard will go higher.

 

[Nilgiri]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1431315115555663877

 

[Philip the Arab]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1431315115555663877

Will Astra ever be used as a SAM or is it redundant with the other SAM systems under development?


I like a system like the SLAMRAAM personally using the Astra.

 

[Nilgiri]

Will Astra ever be used as a SAM or is it redundant with the other SAM systems under development?


I like a system like the SLAMRAAM personally using the Astra.

VL-SRSAM is essentially an ASTRA variant.

DRDO conducts first launch of the VL-SRSAM

The missile, based on the 'Astra' platform, would augment the Navy's capabilities

www.theweek.in

DRDO start Prototype work on VL-SRSAM (Astra BVRAAM) for Indian Navy – Indian Defence Research Wing

idrw.org

 

[Gessler]

Some snaps I never saw before of the QRSAM

@Nilgiri delete these if already posted

And the launcher mounted on Ashok Leyland 8x8 HMV:

 

[Gessler]

Pretty comprehensive look at the roles surrounding the two ships (INS Dhruv & INS Anvesh), which together comprise the DRDO Floating Test Range.

Thanks to Other Forum-PK aka GODOFPARADOXES on Twitter.

In addition, the INS Dhruv can independently work as a telemetry ship for non-BMD related tests (such as SLBMs).