Indian Missiles

After independence, research on missiles was started in India as part of the need to acquire new technologies for the security of the country. Missiles are high-explosive weapons that are made to destroy a specific target using technologies. Ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, and anti-tank missiles are examples of various types of missiles. Based on the surface on which they are launched, missiles can be mainly classified into two - surface-to-surface and surface-to-air.

Prithvi Missile

Prithvi is a short-range ballistic missile. It was developed by DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. 'Prithvi' is the first missile developed indigenously by India. Prithvi became the first indigenous missile to become part of the Indian Armed Forces in 1993. Prithvi has I, II and III versions with ranges from 150 to 600 km. Prithvi is a surface-to-surface missile used by the Army, Air Force and Navy. 'Dhanush' is a variant of Prithvi II missile used by the Navy. Dhanush is one of the five missiles developed by DRDO under IGMDP. Dhanush is a ship-launched Prithvi missile.

Agni Missile

Agni is a surface-to-surface intermediate-range ballistic missile with different ranges. It was developed by DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP). Agni has I, II, III, IV, V and VI versions with ranges from 700 to 10,000 km. The Agni series consists of the short-range missile Agni I, the medium-range missile Agni II, the intermediate-range missiles Agni III, Agni IV, and the long-range missiles Agni V and Agni VI. Agni I is the first indigenously developed surface-to-surface ballistic missile by India.

Agni Missile (Range)

◆ Agni I - 700-1250 km

◆ Agni II - 2000-2500 km

◆ Agni III - 3000-3500 km

◆ Agni IV - 3000-4000 km

◆ Agni V - 5000-8000 km

◆ Agni VI - 8000-10000 km

Agni Prime (Agni P): DRDO has successfully tested the new generation ballistic missile Agni Prime, which is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The latest missile in the Agni series, Prime, was launched on June 28, 2021 from Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Island in Balasore off the coast of Odisha. The missile has a range of 1000 to 2000 km. The second test of Agni Prime in December 2021 and the third test in October 2022 were successful. Agni Prime missiles can be launched from both road and rail.

Akash Missile

Akash is an indigenously developed surface-to-air ballistic missile developed by India. It is designed to protect strategic areas from enemy air attacks. With a range of up to 30 km, this missile can target aircraft flying at an altitude of 18 km.

Akash NG: The Akash NG missile, which can be used against surface-to-air targets, was successfully launched from the Odisha coast on July 21, 2021. The new version of the third generation of Akash missiles was tested. The new generation Akash missile (Akash NG) is capable of destroying any fast-moving enemy attacks through the air.

Akash Prime: The new version of the Akash missile, 'Akash Prime', was successfully tested on September 27, 2021, at Chandipur, Odisha. Unlike the existing Akash missile, it has an indigenously developed radio frequency (RF) system. This will help it strike the target with greater accuracy. It has also been modified to perform better in any temperature.

Trishul Missile

Trishul is a short-range surface-to-air ballistic missile developed by India. It was developed by DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. It can destroy low-flying enemy aircraft and helicopters. Trishul has a range of 9 km. Trishul traveled at supersonic speeds. Trishul, which was used for the Indian Navy, is no longer in service.

Nag Missile

India has successfully tested Nag, an indigenously developed third-generation anti-tank guided missile. It was developed by DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. The range is four to seven kilometers. Nag was developed after 30 years of research.

BrahMos Missile

The BrahMos is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from land, aircraft and submarines. India is developing the BrahMos missiles in collaboration with Russia in the BrahMos Aerospace. The name BrahMos comes from the names of the Brahmaputra River in India and the Moskva River in Russia. The BrahMos missile is designed to be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft and land. The BrahMos has two stages - a solid-fuel rocket booster and a liquid-fuel ramjet. The system is designed with two variants for anti-ship land attack roles. It is also a universal long-range supersonic cruise missile system. Inducted in November 2006, the BrahMos is used by the Army, Air Force and Navy. The submarine version of Brahmos was test-fired on 20 March 2013. With this, India became the first country in the world to successfully test a supersonic cruise missile underwater.

Various versions of Brahmos

◆ Land-to-land launch.

◆ Land-to-ship launch.

◆ Ship-to-ship launch.

◆ Aircraft-to-land launch.

Nirbhay Missile

Nirbhay is an indigenously developed long-range subsonic missile with nuclear capability. Nirbhay is the first cruise missile developed entirely by India. Developed by DRDO, this missile is capable of carrying a 300 kg warhead to a distance of 1000 km. Nirbhay travels at a speed of 0.7 - 0.9 Mach. They can take off vertically like a rocket, fly along the coast, overcome obstacles, and evade radars. This missile can be launched from fighter aircraft, warships, submarines, and land. All seven tests of Nirbha were conducted in Balasore, Odisha. The missile was first tested in March 2013. The second to seventh tests were conducted in October 2014, October 2015, December 2016, November 2017, April 2019, and June 2021.

Sagarika Missile

Sagarika is a nuclear-capable ballistic missile launched from a submarine. Developed by DRDO, Sagarika has a range of up to 750 km. The 8.5-meter-long Sagarika can carry a payload of up to 500 kg. Sagarika was successfully test-fired for the first time on 26 February 2008 off the coast of Visakhapatnam. The missile was initially named K-15. Sagarika is being tested for the Indian Navy.

Astra Missile

Defense scientists describe Astra as the 'missile of the future'. Astra is a Beyond Visual Range class of Air-to-Air Missile (AAM) system designed to be mounted on fighter aircraft. The missile is designed to shoot down and destroy powerful supersonic aircraft. It can be fired from fighter aircraft at air targets beyond the visual range. This missile can be used to detect and shoot down enemy aircraft even at a distance of 90 - 120 km. It is a missile that can intercept radar. The first test was conducted in May 2000. It is an indigenously developed air-to-air missile for the Indian Air Force and Navy. The missile is currently being developed in multiple variants to meet specific requirements. The Astra Mk-1 and Astra Mk-2 are the variants of the Astra. The Astra Mk-1 weapon system is inducted into the Indian Air Force by integrating it with the SU-30 Mk-1 aircraft.

Shaurya Missile

Shaurya is a surface-to-surface hypersonic ballistic missile developed by DRDO for the Indian Armed Forces. Shaurya, a land variant of India's K-15 missile, has a strike range of 700 km to 1000 km. The altitude limit is 50 km. It uses two-stage solid propellants. The nuclear-powered missile, Shaurya, travels at speeds of up to Mach 7.5. The 10-meter-long Shaurya can carry a payload of 200 to 1000 kilograms.

Pralay Missile

Pralay is an indigenously developed surface-to-surface ballistic missile. Pralay is a short-range surface-to-surface missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It can change course after a certain distance after launch. It can destroy targets at a distance of 150 to 500 kilometers. It has the capacity to carry a warhead of 350 to 700 kilograms. The first test was conducted on December 22, 2021 from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island in Balasore off the coast of Odisha and the second test was conducted on December 23, 2021. The Pralay missile project was approved in 2015. It is a modification of Prahar, which was first tested in 2011. Prahar is a surface-to-surface missile indigenously developed by DRDO. Prahar is a weapon capable of carrying multiple types of warheads and neutralizing a wide range of targets.

Barak 8 Missile

In 2010, reports emerged that India and Israel were jointly developing a missile. In 2017, the central government approved a defense project to jointly develop a medium-range missile with Israel. The project was to develop a land-launched missile with a range of 70 km. Following this, the Defense Research and Development Organization of India (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) jointly developed the Barak 8 missile. Barak 8 is the first missile developed jointly by Israel and India. The Barak 8 missile is also known as LR-SAM and MR-SAM. The Indian Navy successfully tested the Barak 8 LR-SAM missile for the first time in 2015. It is a surface-to-air missile.

Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV)

India has tested a cutting-edge technology that allows missiles to travel six times faster than the speed of sound. The name of this technology, which was tested on September 7, 2020, is Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle. India is the fourth country to develop hypersonic technology on its own after the United States, Russia and China. It was developed by the Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO).

Pinaka multi barrel rocket launcher

'Pinaka' is a rocket launching system that can launch multiple missiles simultaneously onto the battlefield. A fully indigenously developed multi-barrel rocket launcher, Pinaka can launch 12 rockets in 44 seconds. The rockets, which can carry 1.2 tonnes of explosives, can strike at a distance of up to 60 km. In December 2021, the extended range test of the Pinaka rocket was successfully conducted at the Pokhran test site (Rajasthan). The Pinaka ER, a modified version of the Pinaka rocket system with an increased attack range from 60 km to 75 km, was launched. The Pinaka rockets are manufactured by a private company with the help of technology transferred by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The Indian Army currently has the Pinaka MK1 variant. The last successful launch of the Pinaka ER was in 2022.