Rise of the BrahMos - The brainchild of APJ Abdul Kalam; Part-I

BrahMos Cruise Missile - The Finest cruise missile system

BrahMos being reading for validation fire; Source - DRDO

   Currently the world’s fastest cruise missile and capable of decimating targets with pin-point accuracy, this missile system is uninterceptable when fired in a salvo. The missile is the most feared among the western countries, for the NATO is yet to find a way to counter it. Which is the missile so potent to break NATO’s interceptor systems? It’s none other than the BrahMos jointly developed by the true magicians of missile technology, India and Russia. BrahMos is just not a missile system, but a tech demonstrator, an exhibit for joint venture’s between nations.

    But how was an ambitious and ahead of time project like BrahMos constituted? The roots of BrahMos lie within the success of it’s closest competitor the legendary ‘Tomahawk missiles’ but how? How was such a futuristic project influenced by its rival design and success? It was soon after the success of American forces in the gulf war, India realized the importance of a cruise missile. The top brains of DRDO, was very mesmerized with the success of ‘Tomahawk’ in annihilating, Saddam’s Iraq forces. India had a close call, when the 7th fleet ‘Task force’ of the US navy had lurked in its backyard during the 1971 war. The day was saved only after India's long-time ally, Russia fielded its nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines across Indian coasts. Had the '7th fleet'/'Task force' launched the 'Tomahawk', India would have been a sitting duck waiting to be squashed. Hence a program was constituted by India’s celebrated missile scientist ‘APJ Abdul Kalam’, to arm the nation with cruise missiles.

    Kalam, DG, DRDO considered developing an advanced delivery system that would be extremely accurate and at the same time extremely cost effective, so the program design headed towards a cruise missile delivery system. Things gather pace as, Kalam roped in his colleague and the former pilot of India’s futuristic IGMDP project, Sivanthanu Pillai to head the design and development of the program. The very main aim of the program was to develop a cruise missile delivery system, which was far more superior to the Tomahawk missile systems. Various options were considered to make the system superior but the answer was simple ‘fasten the missile system’. Faster the missile travels, the more ground can be covered in shorter span of time and thus crippling the response time of the enemies.

INS Kolkata D-63 firing BrahMos missile off Karwar; Source - Net

     Increasing the speed was one part, but India had to first master the technology of developing a basic delivery system for the program to evolve. The process of developing the system would mandate, Indian scientists to cross through various technological hurdles. Kalam the then Scientific advisor for the PM was worried about the time-frame that would be required to develop a delivery system and also the influence on the project by India’s political crisis. Kalam using his unmatchable managerial skills, considered the option of setting up a private company which would work far away from the influence of the political circles thus speeding up the time-frame. The next to address was the technological barriers, there was the strict MTCR clauses meaning India could not look at foreign support but to develop the system indigenously.

    The then Program Director (PD) Sivanthanu Pillai for a non-existent program of India, would travel to Moscow for meeting NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM) officials in regard to the Akash SAM systems which were being developed with NPOM. Pillai writes it was during one such meet that BrahMos matured, the topic in discussion was the success of Tomahawk cruise missiles in the gulf war. Pillai then put forward, India’s interest in acquiring a supersonic cruise missile system, responding spontaneously to Pillai’s quest, NPOM officials threw light towards the existence of a liquid propellant Ramjet engine. Developed in the collapsing years of the Soviet Union the Ramjet engines could propel the delivery systems to supersonic speeds. With the Soviet Union collapsing and economical crunches, the development was halted and the engine technology written off.

BrahMos Block - III being test fired; Source - ForceIndia

   Pillai arriving to India, informed his boss, Abdul Kalam about the existence of a propulsion system,incidentally this was the missing part in India’s quest to master the cruise missile technology. Kalam then informed the higher ranks of the government and soon a hotline for negotiations with the Russians was opened. Pillai again visited Moscow, and met H. Yefremov, the then director general of NPOM when presented with the idea of co-developing a missile, it is learnt Yefremov was enchanted and agreed for a ToT of the propulsion systems. From here on, Yefremov took every possible way to get a JV sanctioned for co-development of the missile system. Finally the governments cleared the decks for the development of a missile system and Indian’s were shown the Ramjet engines which was promising to change India’s missile arsenal. A Joint Venture (JV) was being worked upon when the program received a major blow, Russia rejected to provide any financial assistance for the program. The program was valued at around US $1500 million, a 50-50 JV was India’s goal but Russia rejected the idea, quoting its technological assistance for the program. Pillai and his team continued negotiations with the Russians and finally pulled in a US $250 million initial investment from the Russians.

   The project still lacked money and given India’s financial condition, any more demand would signal the closure of the program itself. The program hit a deadlock and work seized, but Kalam and Pillai continued their negotiations relentlessly, an ‘out of the box’ idea provided by then Indian ambassador to Russia, Satinder K. Lambah saved the project. India at that time was returning debts worth billions of ruble to Russians, Mr. Satinder proposed a retrospective idea of India investing the remaining US $500 million of Russia’s investment. The same would then deduced in India's share of debt amount owed to Russia. Even though the idea was cheered by NPOM and DRDO, fierce uproar by Russian Finance ministry saw the near scrapping of the program. But the savior angel, stepped in the form of the then Russian deputy defense minister N V Mikhailov. Mr. Mikhailov fought at the highest possible level to get the project cleared and made sure the project saw the light.

   On February 12th 1998, APJ Abdul Kalam and the then Russian deputy defense minister N V Mikhailov, signed an inter-governmental agreement paving for BrahMos aerospace. BrahMos is simply the portmanteau of the rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva.  BrahMos aerospace came into solid existence with, DRDO acquiring 50.5 % share and NPOM holding 49.5% share. The work final started in March 1999 with, Russian government and Indian government releasing US $123 and US $127 million respectively for the project. Working under the JV, NPOM was to deliver the missile system and DRDO was responsible for the developing the crucial guidance and control systems, software packages and electronics systems for the missile.

Article by - Karthik Kakoor

Wheelers Island - The home of India's Missile program

Wheelers Island -The launch site for India's Missile program

   

      A tiny island off the Orissa coast in the middle of the vast Bay of Bengal, the home of Indian military might, a place which has transformed into a world class missile range complex.  The island is the base for India’s mystical ‘Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP)’. An Island measuring around 2 kilometers in length and occupying more than 400 acres of land, the Wheeler’s Island is where India’s ambitious missile programs have taken course. It was in the early 1990’s that a team of leading scientists from DRDO started with the work of setting up a futuristic test range for supporting the nation’s ballistic missile program.

    The team was headed by the ‘Missile of India’, APJ Abdul Kalam a distinguished scientist under whom, India’s missile program had reached newer heights. The team also consisted of the celebrated missile scientists V K Saraswat and S K Salwan. With a need for dedicated military test range, the team zeroed in on a 160 square kilometre land mass close to the Proof and Experimental Establishment (PXE) at Chandipur. But to setup a base at the desired location, the government was required to vacate nearly 130 villages with a consolidated population of well over 100000 people.

      The government faced a strong opposition from the villagers to relocate from the villages and in 1995 the government decided to drop the idea of setting up a base in Chandipur and began the search for alternative locations with very minimal habitation and far away main lands. An able team led by V K Sarawat and S K Salwan was putting in charge of locating the land which would be far away from the lime light of society thus negating any negative concerns about the facility.

     The team initially concentrated on setting up a test base at Pokran test range, integral test range for Indian forces. But this was soon rejected considering the effect to the safety of the range. The team then began a long and grueling search for a desolate Island along the Eastern coast. DRDO then sought the help of Navy which came with hydrographic maps of the islands across the Eastern coast. The team then soon set its sight on a group of desolate islands close to ITR, Chandipur. The Islands were in fact Shoals composed mainly of soil, sand pebbles giving the opt environment for a test range. The six islands were spread across the vast ocean and were around 70 kilometers from Chandipur.

     Armed with the accurate hydrograpic maps courtesy of the Indian navy and with a directional compass and minimal knowledge about the exact location of the islands, the range team comprising of S K Salwan and V K Saraswat, set off in the search of the desolate islands after hiring a fishing boat from Dhamra port. The group of Islands on the map were designated as Long Wheeler, Coconut Wheeler and Small Wheeler. The search for the Islands was extremely and continued for a while until the team concluded that the Islands were lost in eternity, the Wheeler Island was just not traceable. It was then the team consulted the local fishermen who were accustomed to the vast ocean.

     The local fishermen, the real navigator of these turbulent seas directed the team to an island they called 'Chandrachud'. The former president ‘APJ Kalam’ has fond memory of the discovery of ‘Chandrachud’ and recalls the day saying “By the time ‘Chandrachud’ was discovered, it was late in the evening. The boatman refused to move at night and the team had to stay in the boat the whole night counting the stars”. The determined efforts of the range team had paid off and but the search for ‘the Wheelers’ continued, the team then consulted the navy to reconfirm the bearings of the land-mass, the hydrographers had termed as six islands. The team was elated to know that they in fact had landed on the mysterious ‘Small Wheeler Island’.

      An experienced team from DRDO then shortly began the survey of the Islands for setting up the much required and ambitious test range. The primary concern for the team was the erosion of the fine sand the Island was based on, the team then forwarded the proposal of setting up a fully fledged test and research range at the Islands. The government cleared the project thus paving way for India’s missile range. To avoid the concern of erosion, DRDO built a vast seawall along the island peripherals. Without a dedicated logistical solution the construction of a base was considered an uphill task for the DRDO. Plans of setting up a dedicated airbase were discussed initially but were later dropped considering the hostile environment prevailing around the range. The main logistical to the islands is the shipping lane which takes care of all the hardware required for successful completion of missions.

     The island is the theater of action for the DRDO missile scientists who have propelled India to new heights with the latest missiles technologies. The Wheeler base is now known an integral part of all strategic missile programs of India and also has witnessed the launch of conventional missiles. The first missile to be first from the range is the Agni-I and Agni-II. The missile range has now evolved to a world class missile testing facility. The base has witnessed the development and launch of Agni I-V, Prithvi missiles, the AAD program, Nirbhay cruise missile, the mighty BrahMos, Nag Anti-tank missiles, Akash and Trishul Surface to Air Missiles (SAM).

       The base has 4 Launch Complexes (LC) which serve as the nerve center for all launch programs. The main launch site for the strategic missiles is the LC-IV, which was established recently to test long range ICBM’s and IRBM’s. India’s ambitious interceptor program, AAD has also been test fired from the Wheelers base. The base has the latest tracking systems, the base is equipped with state-of-the-art surveillance radars. The base also employs the latest Electro-optical tracking system, S-band tracking radar, C-band tracking radar and telemetry band systems. For closely monitoring the launch programs the base has the latest range computer, meteorological systems and to attain safe launches also has the most advanced safety system.

      The facility has been possible because of the determinations of India’s quest to master the latest missile technology. DRDO has set a massive step forward to make India ‘Missile import free’ by 2020 and has promised to make India an leading exporter in missile technology. India today has some of the deadliest and accurate missile system in its arsenal and the ‘Wheelers base’ has been a key part of every mission. India’s most celebrated missile scientists be it, ‘The missile men of India’ “APJ Abdul Kalam”, ‘The missile women of India’ “Tessy Thomas’ or V K Saraswat have their own share of stories to be narrated about the base. India is gearing up for testing an salvo of newest missile technologies and ‘Wheelers Island’ will be the launch site, DRDO will propel India’s strategic capabilities to greater heights in the coming years.

Article - Karthik Kakoor

Pakistan's over audacious claim of its Ra'ad Cruise Missile

Is Pakistan over confident with its Ra'ad Cruise Missile ?

       The Pakistan Air force's ultimate Air to ground weapon is the Ra'ad Air Launched cruise Missile, Frankly speaking it's one of the best Air launched missiles across the Globe and is in par with European missile systems, The subsonic missile has a range of around 350 kilometers and can carry a 450 kg of high explosive or around 10 kilo ton Nuclear warheads, the missile becomes deadlier with terrain hugging capability. 

          The Missile uses the decade old INS - Inertial Guidance system. INS basically works based on the accelerometer and gyroscope to lock to the target with GPS guidance. This system can  be easily jammed by several means. Firstly the missile relies on American GPS satellites for guidance and if these GPS Satellites are switched off then the missile becomes a wanderer in eternity.  Pakistan lacks an dedicated satellite system which is crucial for strategic operations. India has the dedicated IRNSS program taking wings. 

           It is believed that the the Ra'ad is a cloned version of Tomahawk missile. The Tomahawk though themselves are under Pakistan is governed by strict rules. But during the Afgan war Pakistan had taken possession of around five unexploded Tomahawk that had landed in Pakistan territory. With little or renewed efforts and help of China it is believed Pakistan developed the Ra'ad and the Babur missiles. These missiles have been repeatedly test fired from time to time and have turned out to be very successful. 

          Pakistan has fitted these missiles out on its  Mirage platform, the aircraft is capable of carrying the missile tagged to its multiple weapons stations. Even though the latest aircraft in Pakistan's inventory is the F-16 gifted by the US, fitting out the Ra'ad on it is a distant dream thanks to the IP terms laid down by US. The soon to be inducted China-Pakistani JF 17 platform can carry the Ra'ad. 

  
    The missile is capable of targeting forward Indian posts close to the border but the missile entering India's mainland is a distant dream. 

1. Most of the cruise missiles use dedicated satellites for target acquisition which provides dedicated information about target position and performance. But Pakistani Ra'ad relay's only on the GPS, and Ra'ad mainly relies on American GPS system, the GPS being relayed to the missile can either be intercepted and manipulated directly or dedicated jammers can easily jam the signal to the missile systems. The accuracy in GPS oriented system is extremely limited. Mos of the Indian missiles mainly demand on SATNAV and RLG ( Ring Laser Guidances ) which guarantee unmatched accuracy. A two second GPS Jamming can make huge difference in the Ra'ad strike performance, a two second jam makes the missile less accurate CEP at 2 kilometers. 

2. The Indian early warning radar's can easily track hostile Pakistani jets, and the launched Ra'ad cruise missiles path can be traced inch by inch and guaranteed interceptor systems can be deployed. Even if the missile employs terrain hugging, integrated AWECS and Aerostats can easily track and guide the interceptor missiles to intercept the incoming missile. Ra'ad is operational only at high altitude meaning the missile relies on a  Hi Lo Hi mode. This mandates the missile has to gain altitude as it closes in on the target and once the missile starts gaining altitude the missile can be detected and be destroyed by QR SAM systems. India's Akash can be a potent interceptor against the Ra'ad. The missile being huge in size and the RCS mandates supersonic fighters of the IAF can chase the missile and intercept it using  their BVR or heat seeking missiles.

3. With the advanced F-16 being placed out of the mission, Pakistan will be left only with the aging Mirage 111 platform for launching Ra'ad missile. Pakistan has more than around fifty aircraft and the jets are aging and using the jets for deep penetrating strikes would be a disaster for the PAF thanks to the superior jets which patrol the Indian skies prowling for victims. Let alone the IAF jets, the stand in multi layer air defense missiles can easily intercept these aircraft thus neutralizing the imminent threat. The Ra'ad is a capable platform for nuclear missions. The missile can carry a 10 kilo-Ton nuclear warhead and the missile can be intercepted with the standard package. The missile will explode in the air or close to the ground inflicting sustained damage on Indian target. 

        But once Pakistan initiates a nuclear strike, India will be forced to retaliate. The retaliatory strikes will inflict heavy damage on Pakistan and India may consider neutralizing threats through out Pakistan by sustained bombing missions. Pakistan's claim of comparing the Ra'ad with the world's fastest cruise missile BrahMos is over audacious. Salvo of BrahMos is a nightmare for even the latest interceptor systems. 

Editor Karthik Kakoor

The missile arsenal of Indian armed forces

 The missile arsenal of Indian forces

Cruise Missile

    As the name defines these missiles basically cruise to deliver their payload to a designated target. Cruise missiles are usually powered by jet engines, Scramjet and Ramjet are the latest technology. Cruise missiles are very cost effective and the same time can cause havoc our enemy territory. These missiles can fly low hugging to the terrain thus making it extremely difficult to be detected. Cruise missiles are classified based on the speeds, subsonic cruise missiles travel at a speed lesser than the speed of sound approximately at around 0.8 mach ‘Tomahawk and Klub’ are the best examples.

      Supersonic missiles travel approximately at around 2-3 mach i.e. almost a kilometre/second of its flight. BrahMos jointly developed by India and Russia is the only versatile Supersonic cruise missile. Cruise missiles enjoy considerable long ranges but owing to the operational cost medium range missiles are favoured by armed forces across the world.  Hypersonic missiles are still under development and will fly at around 5-6 mach.

BrahMos cruise missile

       India has the worlds fastest and the deadliest cruise missile in its arsenal, BrahMos. India and Russia decided to setup a private company that could work independently off the political circles, the result was BrahMos aerospace a portmanteau of the rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva. BrahMos flies at variable speeds between 2.8-3.0 mach and can be launched from all platforms. 

     The ‘missile man’ of India APJ Abdul Kalam and the then Russian deputy defense minister N V Mikhailov worked relentlessly get BrahMos going. The project took baby steps with India holding 50.5 % share and Russia holding 49.5% share in a joint venture. Russian government and Indian government pitched in US $123 and US $127 million respectively for the project. After three long years of hard work, BrahMos was for the first time test fired from ITR, Chandipur on 12th June 2001.

      Repeated tests followed and the missiles was tested for VTL, mobile launcher and land attack  capabilities during the course of 10 years. The development and success with BrahMos has been a never ending process, the missile has evolved over the years and is now currently in Block III configuration. Till date 35 validation and trail tests have been carried out, during one such test BrahMos became the world’s fastest cruise missile. 

        On 20th March 2013, the submarine launched version of BrahMos was testes fired from a submerged pontoon of the Visakhapatnam coast. BrahMos-A the air launched version is expected to be test fired shortly from a IAF Su-30. Indian navy and Indian army have already deployed the BrahMos. Air force has also placed an order for over 200 air launched version of the BrahMos.

Nirbhay cruise missiles 

   

    The home grown Nirbhay, is a multi-platform all weather cruise missile. The missile can carry one tonne of payload and has operational range of 1000 km. Nirbhay is a two-stage missile system with loitering capability. Nirbhay is equipped with ring-laser gyroscope for accurate strikes. Nirbhay can fly at extremely low altitudes, the missile is enabled with terrain hugging technology which effectively means the missile can fly in the tree levels. This method is instrumental in avoiding detection by enemy radar systems and can help in reducing the reaction time of the enemies. 

          Nirbhay is capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads. Initially Nirbhay will be launched from a mobile launcher which has been developed by Tata. Further development will guarantee the launch of Nirbhay from Aerial and Naval platforms. The missile will supplement the BrahMos with its extended range.

       The first test of the missile took place in February 2013, the test was a partial success as the missile was destroyed half way to its target after it showed diversion in its trajectory. The missile was again tested in October 2014, the missile delivered the package to the designated target flying flawlessly through the skies. Nirbhay is expected to enter service in less than three years. India also has the Exocet and Harpoon missiles in its arsenal.

Ballistic Missile

      A ballistic missile is a missile system that follows a ballistic trajectory over most of its flight path where most of its trajectory is governed by the gravitational pull of earth. Ballistic missiles cover most of their flight in the stratosphere and during the terminal phases enter the atmosphere and are guided to a per-designated targeted with the help of highly advanced navigational systems. Ballistic missiles are usually powered by multi-stage rockets and are usually classified based on the range and the payload they can carry i.e. conventional and nuclear warheads.

      Ballistic missiles can be launched from silos situated either on the ground or in submarines which is the best platform for retaliatory strikes. Ballistic missiles launched from the submarines are classified as SLBM (Submarine Launched Ballistic missile). India has a very matured ballistic missile program thanks to the relentless work of DRDO. The Agni program serves as the umbrella program for India’s ballistic missile program. 

        Agni V remains to be the most advanced ballistic missile, India has developed. Agni V has a confirmed range of 5500 km classifying it as an ICBM (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile). K-missile family are SLBM’s, K-4 which is currently under development will have an operational range of 3500+ km. The K-12 with 750 km has been fitted out on INS Arihant and is slated to be test fired in the near future.

Article by - Karthik Kakoor