Mighty India Power

If the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre is the heart of India’s nuclear deterrent, the Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) in Hyderabad is its limbs and sinews. The ASL Director, Avinash Chander, takes us through a spotless assembly room, where technicians are bolting sensitive instruments into the nose of a giant Agni-3 missile. It is eerie; before long, this very missile will roar off a launch pad on Wheeler’s Island in Orissa. It will travel 350 km above the earth, re-enter the atmosphere at a speed of 5 kilometers per second, experiencing temperatures of 3000 degrees centigrade. But the scientists here are cheerfully confident of repeating last April’s success, and proving the missile’s ability to deliver a one-and-a-half-ton nuclear bomb to within 100 metres of a target 3000 kilometers away. And that is routine stuff, compared to what India’s Chief Controller of Missiles and Strategic Systems (CC-MSS), Dr VK Saraswat, has divulged to Business Standard. He says that ASL is now work...

At least 40 public and private companies across the country are closely involved in the making of the indigenous ballistic missile interceptors. They have already manufactured or assembled parts and sub-systems for the first trial that took place in Orissa on December 6, 2007, according to Dr V.K. Sarswat, Chief Controller R&D (Missiles & Strategic System) and Programme Director (Air Defence), Defence Research & Development Organisation Companies They include Bharat Electronics Ltd and Bharat Dynamics Ltd, Astra Microwave, ASL, VemTech and KelTech. “The integrated (and fully-tested defence shield system) will be operational in three years,” Dr Sarswat told a news meet here on Friday. System development The development of an intercept-and-destroy defence system got off-the-mark in 1982 and the first phase has proven that it can kill cruise or intercontinental ballistic missiles of the 2000-km class. Over the next two years, “we want to perfect this through some more trial...

After Russia back-pedalled on transferring technology for the production here of the T-90 main battle tank (MBT), a hiatus seems to have emerged over transferring "total" technology for the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile that Russia is jointly developing with India. "We have not got full technology for the transfer of the (missile's) engines," C.G. Krishnadas Nair, a former chairman of state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), said at a seminar here that Defence Minister A.K. Antony inaugurated. "We must have access to total technology. This denial is a serious matter," Nair, who is the founder-chairman of Society of Defence Technologists (SODET), maintained. "No one should hold the other to ransom," he contended, clearly implying that Russia was holding back the technology for the missile's engine. SODET brings together technologists of defence public sector undertakings, ordnance factory boards and military inspection esta...

India has developed a two-layered ballistic missile defence system to counter enemy missiles. It has been configured with radars for long-range surveillance, tracking, command, control, communication and interception to destroy enemy ballistic missiles. The two-layered system, comprising “exo” and “endo” atmospheric interceptors, destroys incoming ballistic missiles at altitudes above 40 km and below 25 km, respectively. The exo-atmospheric interception was successfully tried on November 27 at an altitude of 48 km while the endo-atmospheric high supersonic missile (also called as AAD) was successfully put on trial in the first week of December. Another trial demonstrating the interception of a live ballistic missile was held on December 6 at an island near Orissa. The interceptors were developed at the Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE) in Bangalore at a cost of Rs.2,000 crore. Briefing the success story of the LRDE, an R and D establishment of the Defence Resear...

The flight test of the air version of BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile will be conducted next year, A Sivathanu Pillai, Chief Executive and Managing Director of BrahMos Aerospace has said. The induction of BrahMos missile into the Army and Navy was under progress and the production capability would be enhanced beyond 100 units a year, if needed, Pillai told reporters in Tiruchirapalli on Thursday. About 10 countries, including some developed nations, have evinced interest in having the missile. But, no decision has been taken yet to sell the missile to other countries, he said. A decision in this regard would be made jointly by India and Russia. The priority was to meet the demands of the three forces in the country, he said. An Indo-Russian team has finalised the preliminary specifications of the system for BrahMos-II with hypersonic speed. The new version would be developed in five years' time, he said. Pillai, who is also the Chief Controller(Research and Development) of D...

US Aeronautics major Lockheed Martin is in talks with India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to collaborate in the development of a ballistic missile defence (BMD) system in the country. The latest move is in addition to the organisation’s ongoing programmes to develop an indigenous anti-missile system. Just about a month ago, India had successfully tested interceptor missiles. “We are in touch with DRDO officials. New Delhi could be looking for Washington’s help and that of other nations in building up crucial sub-systems for the BMD,” Lockheed Martin (Air and Missile Defense Strategic Initiatives) vice-president, Dennis D Cavin told ET. The company is developing the Patriot Advance Capability (PAC)-III anti-missile system for the US. Mr Cavin would fly to India next month to participate in the Defence Expo, and will meet V K Saraswat who is known as the father of Indian interceptor missile programme. “India could be looking at US help to develop ‘hit-to-kill...

India announced on Monday it had successfully launched an Israeli satellite overnight Sunday. Both Indian and Israeli space engineers were present at the launching of the TecSar synthetic aperture reconnaissance satellite, Israel's most advanced satellite yet. The satellite was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and some 80 minutes after launching the TecSar began transmitting signals. The satellite that weighs just under 300 kilograms has the ability to create images of objects on the earth day or night,and is not affected by cloudy weather conditions. According to reports, the TecSar satellite is capable of imaging with a resolution of up to 10 centimeters. According to reports, a decision to conduct the launching from India was decided several years ago during a visit by former Defense Ministry director general Amos Yaron. The launching is just one more component in the ever increasing cooperation between Israel and India, and there are plans to launch at least two more...