Mighty India Power

An overview by Dr. Monika Chansoria of the Centre for Land Warfare Studies 09:18 GMT, October 30, 2009 India Strategic | South Asia's feeble political and strategic equations are reflected in the volatility of its security arrangements. The evolution of elements that have been crucial towards galvanizing India's strategic response crucially include its missile programme as an unassailable part of that strategy. The past decades have witnessed phenomenal surges in missile technology and intrusions into outer space. India, however, did not have a credible missile programme by means of which it could boast of a sturdy arsenal of missile systems of that point. India's missile programme can be stated to be an offshoot of its space programme, beginning 1967. Subsequently, in 1972, Rohini, a 560 two-stage, solid propulsion sounding rocket, was developed and test fired, capable of reaching an altitude of 334km with a 100kg payload. India first launched its small 17-tonne SLV-...

Post Chandrayaan ISRO invites astronauts for manned lunar mission. Two eligible Indian citizens can grab the unique chance to hitch a ride to the moon onboard ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization)’s next manned spacecraft slated for launch in 2015. An announcement inviting applications from wannabe Indian astronauts fit physically and mentally, and willing to face challenges was made by Dr TK Alex, director of ISRO Satellite Centre in Bangalore. After the widely lauded success of its maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan-I, ISRO had publicized its plans for a manned space mission. Chandrayaan-I was a landmark achievement in that, the mission had confirmed presence of water on the moon. Indian Planning Commission earmarked $2.5 billion for the mission months ago. ISRO’s Chairman G Madhavan Nair had on several occasions spoken about Chandrayaan-II’s slated 2013 launch. Chandrayaan-II will be a joint mission by India and Russia. Madhavan Nair had told reports that ISRO is under...

The Indian Navy will get a dedicated communications satellite next year which will ensure robust and secure communications for this youngest of India's defence services. The satellite will help boost the navy's network-centric operations and connectivity at sea, according to defence minister AK Antony. Antony, who was addressing the Naval Senior Officer's Conference here, said India's growing stature would also lead to increased expectations that it would maintain military balance and security in the Indian Ocean Region. Keeping this in mind, it was important that efforts were made to enhance the navy's maritime domain awareness and that requirements to meet these needs were put on a fast track. ''The launch of the naval communication satellite next year will significantly improve connectivity at sea,'' Antony said. With the launch of this satellite the Indian Navy would take the lead among the three defence services in having its own dedicated...

This one is on the lines of free-market commercials: Ask for one and get at least four free! The difference is that it is not a shirt or a pair of jeans. It's a single rocket capable of delivering multiple warheads - even non-conventional nuclear systems - at different targets. The country is on the verge of getting one as the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is validating technologies that will help India deploy multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRV) on its missiles. Currently, the country has missiles that can deliver only one warhead at a time. The defence research establishment has confirmed that it has made significant progress over the past few years in developing an indigenous technology for the single-rocket-multiplewarhead system. In another three-four years, this ultimate war machine will be ready. The DRDO says the platform for re-entry vehicles would be different from the indigenously developed Agni series of missiles. Since...

India's ambitious programme to develop a sophisticated light-weight fighter aircraft moved ahead another step with the Indian Air Force conducting a five-week multi-disciplinary trial with two Tejas aircraft at its Jamnagar air base in Gujarat. The trials take the programme closer to achieving Initial Operational Capability (IOC) - a task that the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), which manages the Tejas programme, is committed to achieve by the end of 2010. "The trials entailed flight envelope expansion in various stores configurations, as well as air-to-ground weapon delivery trials in different modes of weapon delivery," a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) official said here today. According to officials, the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) successfully demonstrated its ability to tackle targets designated visually by the pilot. With this phase behind it the LCA will now test its ability to let its on-board navigation and attack computers take o...

The Astra, built by the Defence R&D Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad, will allow IAF pilots to hit enemy aircraft up to 44 km away, at altitudes up to 20,000 metres. Improving on that will be the Astra Mk II, with a longer range of 80 km. The Astra incorporates many cutting-edge technologies. Here is how an Astra would take on an enemy fighter: an IAF fighter’s radar picks up the target; the pilot launches an Astra missile. A high-energy propellant quickly boosts the missile to several times the speed of sound. At ranges beyond 15 km, the Astra cannot “see” its target, so the IAF fighter guides the missile, relaying the target’s continually changing position over a secure radio link. Once it is 15 km from the target, the Astra’s onboard seeker picks up the target; after that the Astra homes in on its own. At this point, the target would start turning and diving to throw off the missile. But the Astra manoeuvres better, and moves much faster, than even the most agile fighters. A rad...

Dispute between India and China has been deepened these days over the unwanted Arunachal issue. And the fight for supremacy in the South Asia has begun some years ago but recent report said that the dragons are scared of India's proposed Agni V missile. India's Agni series missile Agni V, which is scheduled to to be test-fired in 2011, has scared China. According to a Chinese newspaper report, the Communist country has been scared of the reach of Agni V. India's long-range nuclear capable missile Agni V can target any part of China. The report claimed that Agni V has put China in a fix over its reach.

India and Russia will launch the joint fifth generation fighters by year end and have agreed to collaborate to develop heavy lift cargo helicopters and futuristic infantry combat vehicles. The path for more hi-tech defence collaboration between Moscow and New Delhi was paved with the signing of the joint defence protocol by Defence Minister AK Antony and his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov. The protocol extends military interaction between the two countries till 2020 and this is expected to make the path clear for inking more major defence joint ventures during the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in early December. The protocol was signed here at the end of 9th session of India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on military-technical cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) after assurances from Moscow that all pending issues like the delivery of aircraft carrier Gorshkov and nuclear submarine Nerpa would be resolved at the earliest. The protocol provides for complet...

Agni-5, India's latest long-range nuclear-capable missile under development, can target China's northernmost city of Harbin, a leading Chinese newspaper has claimed amid a slew of strident anti-India articles over the status of Arunachal Pradesh. "India's Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) has made its forthcoming Agni-5 missile highly road-mobile, or easily transportable by road, which would bring Harbin, China's northernmost city within striking range if the Agni-5 is moved to northeast India," the People's Daily reported. Harbin is the capital of China's Heilongjiang Province. The paper, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, noted that the Agni-5 which has a range of 5,000 km is similar to the Dongfeng-31A showcased during China's National Day Military Parade on October 1 in Beijing. India is going to test-fire the missile in early 2011, the report claimed. The report came two days after China raked up its claim over Arunacha...

Set against the backdrop of American financial Tsunami, the rise of China and Russia, the predicament of the U.S in Iraq, Afghanistan and the U.S policy failures on North Korea and Iran, the Indo-U.S Nuclear deal has profound strategic and defense implications. The Nuclear deal is going to place India as the de-facto P-6 country in the globe. It is now better placed on the diplomatic plane with excellent relationship with the two strongest military powers of the globe. In the fields of diplomatic, military, trade and technological co-operations, India is to gain the maximum from these rivals. Besides, the agreement has opened up doors of trade, scientific and technological co-operation with the EU countries like France, Germany and Italy. The just concluded agreement with France, for producing medium-range fighter aircraft engine Kaveri, which was under American sanction, points to the immense possibilities. China, rising to the superpower status with a phenomenal speed, must take in...

The Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) in Hyderabad, which develops India’s strategic (long-range, nuclear-tipped) missiles, has dramatically increased the options for its forthcoming Agni-5 missile by making it highly road-mobile, or easily transportable by road. That enables the Agni-5 to reach targets far beyond its stated 5,000-km range by quickly moving closer to the target. In a hypothetical war against, say, Sweden, an Agni-5 launcher, stationed near Bangalore, would be unable to strike Stockholm, 7,000 km away. But moving by road to Amritsar would bring Stockholm within range. Similarly, moving the Agni-5 to northeast India would bring even Harbin, China's northernmost city, within striking range. From various places across India, the Agni-5 can reach every continent except North and South America. The Agni-5 will be the first canisterised, road-mobile missile in India's arsenal, similar to the Dongfeng-31A that created ripples during China's National Day Mil...

India on Monday successfully test-fired two of its nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missiles from a military range in the eastern state of Orissa, defence officials said. The missiles, with a strike range of about 350 kilometres, were fired at five-minute intervals from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipore-on-Sea, India's Defence Ministry said in a statement. "The two missiles aimed at two different targets at about 350 kilometres from the launch point, met all the mission objectives," the ministry said. Two naval ships tracked and monitored both missiles hitting the targets "very accurately," it said. Prithvi, which means "Earth" in the Hindi language, is India's first locally built ballistic missile. It is about 9 metres in length and 1 metre in diameter, and is capable of carrying a payload of 500 kilograms, including nuclear weapons. Two versions of the missile have been deployed with India's army and air force. Mo...

Days after China’s display of military might, India has lined up a series of tests of some of the country’s most sophisticated missiles over the next two months. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will conduct the tests of Prithvi and Agni-II in October. The trials of BrahMos and K-15 will be held in November. And from Monday, the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Balasore will host a three-day target simulation exercise involving pilotless target aircraft (PTA) for the Indian Air Force. Official sources said these tests have nothing to do with China’s display. Preparations for the tests have already begun and scientists are leaving no stone unturned for the successful trials of these missiles, considered as most powerful in the country’s arsenal. Though all the tests are user-trials, the focus will be on Agni-II and K-15 missiles. ``All the four missiles have already been tested successfully from the ITR and apart from K-15, other three have been i...

As part of its ambitious manned space flights programme, India has sought a Russian spaceship for sending “space tourists” into orbit, an official said. “Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has applied for acquiring a spaceship for sending space tourists,” Russian space agency, Roscosmos’ spokesman Alexei Krasnov said. He said the deal would be commercial and two space travellers could fly in the non-reusable ‘Soyuz TMA’ ship to be piloted by a Russian cosmonaut. Krasnov, however, did not provide details about the deal or the value of the contract. “It depends on the route and duration of the flight, which are yet to be finalised,” he said. According to Russian media Roscosmos charges about $35 million for a space tourist’s 10-day flight to the International Space Station (ISS). During President Dmitry Medvedev’s maiden India visit last year, Moscow and New Delhi inked a space accord, under which Russia will help Isro in training Indian astronauts and provide knowhow for ...