Mighty India Power

India today successfully test fired its first-ever undersea nuclear capable ballistic missile off the eastern coastal city of Vishakahpatnam, catapulting it to the select band of five countries equipped with the technology. The missile K-15, with a range of 700 kms, was test fired from a pontoon immersed in the sea at 1258 hours and eyewitnesses saw the missile rising from the waters into the sky. "The test firing was successful," sources said as DRDO awaited the final evaluations from warships in the sea. This was the first full-fledged test of the missile, of which defence scientists had earlier carried out three to four dry runs. The test was undertaken from a submerged pontoon as India does not have a submarine capable to undertake firing of such missiles, official sources said. Chief Controller of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) S Prahlada had said recently that it would need just one test to ratify the missile which would form the main arma...

The former President and architect of India’s missile programme A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Friday asserted that the country had the capability of intercepting and destroying any foreign object endangering its territory. The country had achieved “very high” technological capabilities in avionics, guidance and computerisation in particular, to intercept and destroy objects at a height of up to 200 km. “We definitely have the capability of intercepting foreign objects in defensive action,” he told journalists on the sidelines of an international conference on avionics systems that began here. The successful tests of the Anti-Ballistic Missile and Akash systems in exo and endo-atmospheric regions proved that “we have reliable technology and capability of interceptor missiles.” The country was doing well in guidance and control systems and efforts were under way to significantly develop “Electronic Counter-Counter Measures.” Emphasis was being laid on miniaturisation for easy carriage of miss...

The American sea-based missile defence system, Aegis, couldn't have got a better marketing push. The system used to shoot down a wayward spy satellite on Wednesday is at the heart of a renewed US invitation to India to join hands in putting together a missile defence shield. The US has proposed that the Aegis combat management system be installed on seven Indian frigates under a programme code-named Project 17 A. India's Larsen and Toubro and the Hyundai Heavy Industries have been roped in by American Lockheed Martin to present a joint bid for the Aegis to India. The shooting down of the satellite was however, the perfect marketing demonstration for the Aegis-based missile defence system. The flexibility of this system would allow for the integration of Indian missiles on a collective missile defence shield, should New Delhi so decide. Five other countries have pooled in 85 warships under the Aegis umbrella. Sea-based missile defences dramatically increase the chances of ...

The Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), which is ready to launch underwater missile, is confident of catering to India's defence requirements and ready to make any weapon in a short time. The advances made by the organisation, and the lessons that it had learnt in the recent past, has equipped it with the knowledge and sophistication to develop and manufacture modern weaponry. "The DRDO requires minimum four years and maximum seven years to manufacture a new weapon for the armed forces," said Dr. Prahlada, DRDO's Chief Controller (R and D). Speaking exclusively to Asian News International (ANI) on the sidelines of the DEFEXPO-08, he emphasised that in order to cater to the future defence needs for which more sophisticated and integrated weapons would be required, the DRDO is ready to provide the new weapons in shortest possible time. "In today's world velocity of technology is high and more types of weapons are required with quicker delivery...

After being in the doldrums for quite some time, India's first beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile Astra is now finally set to take flight. Defence scientists, in fact, hope to integrate the missile with a fighter jet for full-scale tests later this year. In terms of sheer technology, the 80-km-range Astra is more complex than even the nuclear-capable Agni series of strategic ballistic missiles. And that is primarily the reason it has remained largely restricted to the drawing board stage till now. But now, in the wake of closure of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) in December 2007, after a quarter of a century of hits and misses, defence scientists are basically focusing on Astra and four other missile systems. The other four are the 700-km range K-15 submarine-launched ballistic missile, the 290-km BrahMos supersonic and hypersonic cruise missiles, the 3,500-km range Agni-III ballistic missile and the long-range surface-to-air missile system...

India's indigenously developed pilot less target aircraft 'Lakshya' was successfully flight tested from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, about 15 km from here on Wednesday. PTA Lakshya, fitted with a digitally controlled improved engine, was developed by the aeronautics development establishment, Bangalore, to perform discreet aerial reconnaissance of battlefield and target acquisition. Usually the flight duration of the six-feet-long micro light aircraft is 30-35 minutes and after covering three to four laps in the sky it drops to the ground with the help of a parachute. 'Lakshya' had been tested several times earlier and to further check its engine viability and duration enhancement, Wednesday's test was undertaken from the launch complex-2 of the ITR, defence sources said adding, ''it is a routine trial.'' 'Lakshya', a sub-sonic, re-usable aerial target system, is remote controlled from the ground and designed to impar...

Buoyed by the success of the ballistic missile defence (BMD) programme, India's defence scientists will test-fire an indigenously-developed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) later this month, an official source said Friday. However, since the Indian Navy does not have a submarine capable of firing an SLBM, the test firing of the Sagarika missile Feb 24-25 will be conducted from an underwater launcher positioned in the Bay of Bengal. "For the test, an underwater launcher will be positioned 50 metres deep in the sea, eight km off the coast," a source at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) told IANS. Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), the missile has twice been test-fired but without success as its trajectory deviated while in flight on both occasions. "Scientists are more cautious this time and are leaving no stone unturned for its successful launch," the source said. The success achieved last year with exo-atmospheri...

Lockheed Martin Corp, the Pentagon's No. 1 supplier, has been told India may be ready to look into possible U.S.-Indian collaboration on ballistic missile defense, a top company official said Wednesday. "I would not be surprised if over the next couple of months we begin to have some exploratory discussions with various members of the government and with Indian industry," Richard Kirkland, Lockheed Martin's top executive on South Asia, said in a telephone interview with Reuters. Indian missile-defense cooperation with the United States could complicate relations with China, Russia and Pakistan. Until now, India's policy has been to develop its missile shield domestically, closing a potential multibillion-dollar market to Boeing Co, Lockheed, Raytheon Co and Northrop Grumman Corp -- the biggest players in the emerging ground, air, sea and space based U.S. missile defense system. But this may be changing in line with a "watershed" Indian decision made ...

Israel will continue using Indian carrier rockets to launch its military satellites into space despite objections from Iran, The Indian Express quoted an Israeli source as saying on Thursday. "Since we have limited capacity to launch rockets, we are looking for partners in this regard, and India is a natural partner since we have such good relations," a senior Israeli diplomat said. Israel and India signed in 2004 a space cooperation agreement that envisions India's participation in a variety of Israeli military satellite projects. On January 21, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched a PSLV rocket carrying an Israeli-made Tecsar spy satellite into orbit from India's Shriharikota space center, prompting an angry reaction from Tehran. Iran urged India earlier this week not to allow its space technology to be used "for spying on friendly countries." According to military experts, the 300-kg Tecsar, reportedly Israel's seventh satellite...

India has embarked on project BrahMos-2, which will see the design and development of hypersonic missiles, according to Dr A. Sivathanu Pillai, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BrahMos Aerospace. The project launched jointly with Russia, under BrahMos, will see more than 20 Russian institutes and industry and a bigger number of Indian industry participating. The hypersonic missiles, will fly at Mach 5-7 speeds ( one Mach is equivalent to velocity of sound or 330 metres per second), Dr Pillai told Business Line here. Different versions Already joint teams from India and Russia have started working on designing different versions of the missiles. The project will be of five-year duration. Both the Indian and the Russian Government have assured adequate funding and support, he said. The initiative has come in the wake of the superb success of the BrahMos project, launched in 1999. The supersonic BrahMos missile developed with speeds of Mach 2.8 has already got orders from the Indian ...