TYPES OF MISSILE AND ASSOCIATED CONCEPTS:
| Brahmos | Supersonic cruise missile, BrahMos, is being developed with Russia as a private joint-venture. BrahMos is a multi-platform cruise missile enabling it to strike from various types of land, sea and air-based platforms. It is among the fastest supersonic cruise missiles in the world with speeds ranging between Mach 2.5 – 2.8. BrahMos is a ‘fire and forget’ weapon, requiring no further guidance from the control centre once the target has been assigned and it is launched.
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| Nirbhay | A supplement to the BrahMos is the Nirbhay-a subsonic missile using a terrain-following navigation system to reach up to 1,000 kms. It is capable of being launched from multiple platforms on land, sea and air. Nirbhay will be a terrain hugging, stealth missile capable of delivering 24 different types of warheads depending on mission requirements.
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| Sagarika | It is a Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) with a range of 750 kms. Sagarika missile is being integrated with India’s nuclear powered Arihant-class submarine.
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| Shaurya | A variant of the K-15 Sagarika named Shaurya has been developed from ground up as a submarine-capable missile. This nuclear-capable missile aims to enhance India’s 2nd-strike capability. Shaurya missile can carry a one-tonne nuclear warhead over 750 kms and striking within 20-30 metres of its target.
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| Dhanush | The sea-based Dhanush is a short-range, sea-based, liquid propellant ballistic missile-known as the Naval version of Prithvi II. It is with a maximum range of approximately 350 kms |
| Astra | The Astra is a beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile using a solid-propellant. In terms of size and weight, the Astra is the smallest missile developed by the DRDO. It is envisaged to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft at supersonic speeds in the head-on mode at a range of 80 kms. Astra has an active radar seeker to find targets, and electronic counter-measure capabilities which permits it to jam radar signals from an enemy surface-to-air battery, thus ensuring that it’s not tracked or shot down.
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| Prahaar | The Prahaar is India’s latest surface-to-surface missile with a range of 150 kms. The primary objective of the conventionally armed Prahaar missile is to bridge the gap between the unguided Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher (ranging 45 kms) and the guided Prithvi missile variants. Stated to be a unique missile, the Prahaar boasts of high maneuverability, acceleration and accuracy.
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CONCEPTS ASSOCIATED WITH MISSILE SYSTEM:
| Concept | Remark |
| Reusable launch Vehicle | A reusable launch system (or reusable launch vehicle, RLV) is a launch system which is capable of launching a launch vehicle into space more than once. This contrasts with expendable launch systems, where each launch vehicle is launched once and then discarded.
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| Air breathing propulsion system | In order to provide thrust by the launch vehicles propellants are used. 70% of the constituent of propellant is oxidiser. So air breathing propulsion system utilise the atmospheric oxygen as an oxidiser to burn the fuel. Ramjet, Scramjet and Dual Mode Ramjet (DMRJ) are the three concepts of air-breathing engines which are being developed by various space agencies.
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| Multiple Independently targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRVs) | The fundamental characteristic of deploying MIRVs is its ability to deliver several warheads along separate trajectories, which confers it flexibility of multiple targeting. The independent targeting capability enhances missile’s ability by exhausting the missile defence, providing deep penetration and potential of destruction of larger area, effectively and precisely. |
| Ballistic Missile system | Launched directly into the high layers of the earth’s atmosphere, It follows Parabolic path, Classified on the basis of coverage Example: AGNI, PRITHVI etc. |
| Cruise Missile System | A cruise is a guided missile that can destroy a target over long distance with high accuracy. They are classified on the basis of speed. Brahmos, Nirbhaya example. |