La decisión del gobierno indio de prohibir la importación de 101 artículos relacionados con la industria militar es un paso que pretende garantizar la autosuficiencia del gigante asiático y ofrecer una gran oportunidad a la industria militar india para fabricar los artículos prohibidos utilizando sus propias capacidades de diseño y desarrollo o adoptando las tecnologías diseñadas y desarrolladas por la DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organization). ¿Puede la defensa india ser autosuficiente? Parece que sí, a tenor de ciertos desarrollos propios con que cuenta su imponente arsenal, y que vamos a repasar a continuación.
Obús Dhanush
Cañón antiaéreo ligero de 155 mm desarrollado por la OFD (Ordnance Factories Board) basado en el cañón Bofors. Equipados con avistamientos térmicos, los obuses Dhanush tienen la capacidad de disparar tres proyectiles en 15 segundos.
Misil Akash
Desarrollado por la DRDO, Akash es un misil tierra-aire (SAM) móvil de mediano alcance. Con la capacidad de alcanzar objetivos a una distancia de hasta 30 km y en altitudes de hasta 18.000 metros, los misiles Akash pueden volar a una velocidad de más de 2,5 mach y pueden rastrear 64 objetivos dentro del alcance.
Misiles Agni
Los misiles Agni son misiles balísticos y han sido desarrollados conjuntamente por Bharat Dynamics Limited y la DRDO. Hasta ahora, la India ha desarrollado seis variantes de misiles Agni: Agni-I (alcance operativo: 700-1.200 km), Agni-II (alcance operativo: 2.000-3.500 km), Agni-III (alcance operativo: 3.000-5.000 km ), Agni-IV (alcance operativo: 3.500–4.000 km), Agni-V (alcance operativo: 5.000–8.000 km) y Agni-VI (alcance operativo: 11.000–12.000 km).
HAL Tejas
Avión de combate multifunción monomotor de cuarta generación, desarrollado por HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited), la DRDO y la ADA (Aeronautics Development Agency). Actualmente, la IAF cuenta con 33 unidades y planea incorporar 123 unidades más a su arsenal.
NETRA
Network Traffic Analysis (NETRA) es una red de software desarrollada por el CAIR (Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics) y la DRDO para la IB (Intelligence Bureau) y la R&AW (Research and Analysis Wing). NETRA puede interceptar mensajes con palabras clave como "atacar, bombardear, explotar y matar" y puede analizar el tráfico de voz que pasa por software como Skype y Google Talk.
In a joint venture between India's DRDO and Russia's NPO, the the SS-N-26 Oniks based BrahMos PJ-10 was developed to be the world's fastest cruise missile. Based on the Russian P-800 Oniks, the BrahMos uses a solid propellant booster and ramjet system to travel at speeds between Mach 2.5 and 2.8. It can be launched from multiple platforms to include land launchers, submarines, ships and aircraft.
Model includes adjustable thrust vanes and 2048x2048 texture and bump maps.
Hace unas horas ha sido lanzado el misil de largo alcance Agni-V. Según la DRDO, la prueba ha sido todo un éxito y, si bien este lanzamiento de prueba no es el primero que se efectúa con este misil, sin embargo es el primero que se efectúa desde lanzadera móvil. Esto otorga mayor capacidad de respuesta a las fuerzas armadas hindúes ante un eventual ataque proveniente de China y/o Pakistan.
La DRDO ha anunciado que el próximo 31 de Enero realizará un disparo de prueba desde un canister montado en lanzadera movil. El misil, que puede alcanzar objetivos localizados a más de 5.000 Kilómetros puede transportar una cabeza nuclear de 1.1 toneladas aunque como es lógico, en este caso llevará una cabeza sin carga alguna.
Problemas de agenda del Primer Ministro Narendra Modi han motivado el retraso de las pruebas del Agni-V que estaban programadas para este mes. Estas serán llevadas a cabo a partir del 26 de Enero, si bien la fecha más probable se baraja que podría estar en la primera semana de Febrero. La importancia de este misil con capacidad nuclear estriba principalmente en su autonomía de 5.000 kilómetros, con la que podría alcanzar blancos en China, en toda Asia y en algunos países europeos. En la actualidad, tan sólo Estados Unidos, China, Rusia, Francia y Reino Unido poseen ICBMs de más de 5.500 kilómetros de alcance, por lo que el Agni-V deja a la India a las puertas de este selecto club nuclear.
David del Fresno Consultores
Asesoría Tecnológica en Impresión 3D y Manufactura Aditiva
India ha probado hoy su nueva bomba planeadora de una tonelada, capaz de alcanzar objetivos localizados a 100 km. de distancia. La bomba de precisión fue probada en la bahía de Bengala y se lanzó desde un avión de la Fuerza Aérea Hindú. Guiada por su sistema de navegación a bordo, se deslizó a lo largo de casi 100 km antes de dar en el blanco con "gran precisión", según ha informado la Organización de Investigación y Desarrollo de Defensa (Defense Research and Development Organization - DRDO). Según el Dr. G Satheesh Reddy, Director del Laboratorio Imarat, encargado del desarrollo de la bomba de planeo, "India se ha hecho autosuficiente en el área de bombas de precisión guiadas."
A diferencia de los misiles, las bombas de planeo no tienen motor a bordo y son por lo tanto mucho más baratas de construir y mantener que los misiles. Su funcionamiento se basa en pequeñas aletas de control que dirigen el arma hacia el objetivo siguiendo un rumbo marcado por el ordenador a bordo conforme a los datos proporcionados por el buscador con que cuenta esta bomba. El buscador en sí mismo puede ser óptico, de infrarrojos o una combinación de los dos. Por si esto no bastase, el ordenador puede recibir datos vía satélite para alcanzar su objetivo con máxima precisión. Gracias a su alcance de 100 kilómetros, esta nueva bomba de planeo puede ser lanzada por el ejercito de la India hacia objetivos terrestres que estén más allá del alcance de la mayoría de misiles tierra-aire disponibles actualmente por los ejércitos de China y Pakistan. En otras palabras, esto significa ni mas ni menos que podrían lanzar un ataque desde un caza y escapar antes de entrar en el radio de alcance de los misiles tierra-aire del enemigo.
DRDO chief Avinash Chander stated today the indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant is set to be launched for sea trials "in a month or two" and it will test-fire the submarine-launched nuclear capable ballistic missile BO-5. The medium-range nuclear missile BO-5 has a range of over 700 km-range.
He was asked about the present status of the indigenous nuclear submarine programme under which at least three Arihant-Class nuclear underwater vessels would be built for the Navy: "During the trial phase, the Arihant will testfire the fully-developed BO-5 missile as part of the sea trials," he said. INS Arihant has been undergoing trials at Navy's key submarine base in Vishakhapatnam and has cleared most of its harbour acceptance trials.
Once inducted, the submarine will help the country complete its Nuclear Triad giving it the capability to respond to nuclear strikes from sea, land and air-based systems. "Triad" means the ability to fire nuclear-tipped missiles from land, air and sea-based weapon platforms. This nuclear submarine will help India achieve the capability of going into high seas without the need to surface the vessel for a long duration. Conventional diesel-electric submarines have to come up on surface at regular intervals for charging the cells of the vessel.
Last Wednesday 18th June, Indian Army successfully test fired the sophisticated Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Akash in a very low altitude near boundary mission from a defence base off the Odisha coast making the weapon system deliverable.
Akash missile, which has a launch weight of 720 kg, a length of 5.8 metres and a diameter of 35 cm, can carry a payload up to 50 kg and destroy a target 30 km away, flying at a supersonic speed of around 2.5 Mach and reaching an altitude of 18 kms. Akash mobile air defence weapon system has been designed, developed and led to production by DRDO for defending and protecting the important assets of the country from penetrating aerial attacks.
Congratulating the DRDO teams, production agencies and Army for successful demonstration of intercepting the target in a low altitude near boundary mission, Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and DRDO Chief Avinash Chander said Akash system has great export potential: “The indigenous development, production and induction of Akash weapon system is a significant contribution to India’s self-reliance in air defence technologies,” he maintained. More than 250 industries are engaged in production and supply of various subsystems/components with military/aerospace grade quality for Akash missile and ground systems.
The trial was supervised by Project Director of Akash G Chandramouli and witnessed by Associate Director of LRDE RV Narayana, ITR Director MVKV Prasad, GM of BEL MM Handa, Director (Technical) of BDL NB Singh, Director General of Army Air Defence and other senior Army officials. This flight trial was last among the validation trials being carried out by Army on the first off production models of Akash supersonic missile.
The successful test-firing of the indigenous Akash surface-to-air missile (SAM) in Odisha has the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) brimming with confidence that it would be quickly inducted into the Army.
A senior official said the Air Force has got one version of Akash, but the Army is yet to follow suit. According to senior officials, the Defence Acquisition Council has already given the nod for a combined order of Akash missiles for IAF and Army. The missile is often evaluated against the American Patriot SAM but uses an integral ram jet rocket propulsion system in addition to being touted as being more accurate and cheap.
India test-fired its nuclear-capable Agni-III ballistic missile on Monday 23th from Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast with a strike range of over 3000 km. The indigenously developed missile was flight-tested from a mobile launcher at launch complex-4 of the Integrated Test Range at about 16:55 hrs. "It was the second user trial in the Agni-III series carried out to establish the 'repeatability' of the missile's performance," a DRDO official said. This surface-to-air missile is powered by a two-stage solid propellant system and can carry a warhead of 1.5 tonne which is protected by carbon all composite heat shield. With a length of 17 metres, the missile's diameter is 2 metres and launch weight is around 50 tonnes.
Chandipur lies about 300 km north of Gopalpur, where the severe cyclonic storm made landfall on Saturday night packing winds at a speed of over 200 km per hour.
Although Chandipur was not in the path of the storm, armed forces had swung into action to protect their vital assets along the Odisha coast, which also include a naval base at Chilika lake and an air defense training center at Gopalpur.
"All equipment at the missile launch stations in Chandipur and Wheeler Island are safe. Our scientists and personnel are also safe, We hope to carry out the training and missile launches scheduled for November." said an official at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) that manages these sites.
On Saturday, DRDO had secured telemetry equipment and radars deployed along the coastal areas. Such equipment are used by the DRDO for tracking missiles and monitoring the accuracy of a mission. High-speed infrared cameras to capture the sequence of a missile launch at the two facilities were also secured from any potential damage.
India’s successful test-launch of the nuclear-capable, intercontinental, surface-to-surface ballistic missile, Agni-V on September 15, 2013, following the April 2012 launch of the 5,000 kms range version of the same Agni-5 by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is again a significant achievement.
DRDO’s inventory of missiles coupled with the versions of BrahMos missiles places India in the top league with China, France, Russia, the US, Britain and Israel. On February 19, 2013, BrahMos Aerospace celebrated “Aardhik Diwas” — Partnership Day — to commemorate 15 years of missile making. “BrahMos is a formidable weapon system. It has offered more punch and strike capability for the three services. We owe it all to Dr A.S. Pillai, CEO & MD, BrahMos Aeropsace and Dr A.G. Leonov, director general, NPOM. It is because of the zeal and enthusiasm of Dr Pillai that we have reached this stage,” remarked Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne, Air Chief and Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Coined as a combination of Brahmaputra and Moscva rivers, this is a versatile supersonic cruise missile system launchable from submarines, ships, aircraft or land, which was successfully accomplished by 2006. At speeds of Mach 2.5 to 2.8, it is the world’s fastest cruise missile, about three and a half times faster than the American subsonic Harpoon cruise missile. BrahMos, with a maximum range of 290 km, can attack surface targets by flying as low as 10 metres over surface-level and can gain a speed of Mach 2.8. The ship-launched and land-based missiles can carry a 200 kg warhead, whereas the aircraft-launched variant, BrahMos A, can carry a 300 kg warhead. The high speed of the BrahMos likely gives it better target-penetration characteristics than lighter subsonic cruise-missiles such as the Tomahawk.
Being twice as heavy and almost four times faster than the Tomahawk, the BrahMos has more than 32 times the on-cruise kinetic energy of a Tomahawk missile, although it carries only 3/5th the payload and a fraction of the range despite weighing twice as much, which suggests that the missile was designed with a different tactical role. Its Mach 2.8 speed means that it cannot be intercepted by some existing missile defence systems and its precision makes it lethal to water targets or those in a cluster.
Main Milestones
2001
BrahMos was first test-fired on June 12, 2001 from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, in a vertical launch configuration.
2008
On March 5, 2008, the land attack version of the missile was fired from the destroyer INS Rajput and the missile hit and destroyed the selected target amidst a cluster of targets.
The missile was vertically launched on December 18, 2008, from INS Ranvir.
2009
On March 4, 2009, BrahMos was tested again with a new navigation system, found successful and then test-fired yet again on March 29, 2009. For this test, the missile had to identify a building among a cluster of buildings in an urban environment. It successfully hit the intended target within two-and-a-half minutes of launch. What made a quantum difference was the new “seeker,” considered unique and capable of seeking targets, which may be insignificant in terms of size, in a cluster of large buildings. India is now the only nation in the world with this advanced technology. After the third test, the Indian Army confirmed that the test was extremely successful and approved the missile. This marked the completion of development phase of BrahMos Block-II.
2010
On March 21, 2010, BrahMos was test-fired and struck a free-floating ship piercing it above the waterline and destroying it completely. The test proved the missile’s manoeuvrability at supersonic speed before hitting a target, making India the first and only country to have a manoeuvrable supersonic cruise missile.
On September 5, 2010, BrahMos created a world record for being the first cruise missile to be tested at supersonic speeds in a steep-dive mode, achieving the Army’s requirement for land attacks with Block-II “advanced seeker software” along with “target discriminating capabilities.” BrahMos became the only supersonic cruise missile possessing advanced capability of selection of a particular land target amongst a group of targets, providing the user with an important edge of precision without collateral damage.
The Block III version of the missile was successfully test-fired on December 2, 2010, from ITR, Chandipur, with advanced guidance and upgraded software, incorporating high manoeuvres at multiple points and steep dive from high altitude. The steep dive capability of the Block III enables it to hit targets hidden behind a mountain range.
2011
On August 12, 2011, it was test-fired by ground forces and met all mission parameters.
2012
On March 4, 2012, it was test-fired by an Indian Army unit at the Pokharan range in Rajasthan to operationalise the second regiment of the weapon system in the Army. With this test, attended by top brass including vice chief Lt. Gen. Shri Krishna Singh and Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Lt. Gen. A.K. Chaudhary, the second BrahMos unit of the Indian Army became operational.
On October 7, 2012, the Indian Navy successfully test-fired BrahMos from the guided missile frigate INS Teg. This new highly manoeuvrable version was fitted with advanced satellite navigation systems turning it into a “super-rocket” capable of hitting targets over 300–500 km from sea, land and air launchers, and capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
2013
The submarine-launched variant of Brahmos was test fired successfully for the first time from a submerged pontoon near Visakhapatnam at the coast of Bay of Bengal on 20 March 2013. This was the first vertical launch of a supersonic missile from a submerged platform. The missile can be launched from a depth of 40 to 50 meters.
Future developments
The purchase of over 200 air-launched BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles for the IAF was cleared by Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on October 19, 2012, at the cost of `6,000 crore ($1 billion). This includes funds for the integration and testing of the BrahMos on IAF’s Su-30MKI. Two Su-30MKI modified by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at its Nashik facility where they will also be integrated with the missile’s aerial launcher. The trial is expected to be conducted in early 2014.
Under development is a smaller variant of the air-launched BrahMos, to arm the Sukhoi Su-30MKI, Mirage 2000, future induction like the 126 Dassault Rafale, and the Indian Navy’s MiG-29K. A model of the new variant was showcased on 20 February 2013, at the 15th anniversary celebrations of BrahMos Aerospace. This smaller version is three metres shorter than the present missile will also have a range of 290 km. The Sukhoi SU-30MKI will carry three missiles while other combat aircraft will carry one each. BrahMos is reportedly attempting a hypersonic Mach 8 version of the missile, BrahMos II, the first ever hypersonic cruise missile, expected to be ready soon. Former President of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has reportedly recommended to BrahMos Aerospace to develop an advanced hypersonic version of the BrahMos cruise missile to maintain India’s lead in the field.
Working at a fast pace towards production and induction of Agni-V missile into the forces, Defence Research and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO) is reportedly planning its second test fire next month.
The maiden test fire of Agni-V, the first intercontinental ballistic missile of India, was carried out in April 2012. The successful trial catapulted the country into the exclusive ICBM club comprising six elite countries, United States of America, Russia, China, France and United Kingdom.
Dr. V. G. Sekaran, chief controller R&D Missiles & Strategic Systems and Agni programme director, said that while no date has been fixed for the test as of now, it will be conducted in September. "This test shall be aimed at repeatability of the previous test for stabilizing the performance of sub-systems," he said, adding that DRDO is working at starting the production and delivery phase by 2015 for Agni-V.
Meanwhile, DRDO is leaving no stone unturned for kick starting the canisterization process for Agni-V by this year end. Canister launch of the missile will enable higher flexibility in launching speedy firing from any location on a road. The indigenously developed 50-tonne long range surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-V, which is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead weighing more than a tonne, has a 5,000 km range as per DRDO officials, who confirmed that preparations are at full swing at Wheeler Island off the Odisha Coastfor a September launch.
Once inducted, India's range with respect to missile reach would include the entire Asia as well as parts of other continents. Agni V will be inducted into the force equipped with MIRVs (Multiple Independently Targetable Re-Entry Vehicles (MIRVs) for shooting multiple warheads at the same time.
India has started a program focused to expand the missile defense to shield large parts of the country that, in the oppinion of many analysts, for some reasons may be counter-productive to maintain the peace in the region. Let us see briefly why.
India
Development of a pan-national missile interception capability is beyond India’s economic means, and for that reason may ballast dramatically the economy of the country.
Pakistan
Pakistan’s inclinations to pursue low intensity conflicts under the shield of its nuclear arsenal have made India extremely uncomfortable with the strategic situation in the region.
Many in Delhi hope missile defense will provide India a space for limited wars against Pakistan, bearing in mind the fear that there could be an unintended launch of a ballistic missile, especially given Pakistan’s vacillation between being ruled by a trigger happy military and being overrun by jihadi extremists.
However, Pakistan is acutely sensitive to any perceived military edge, current or future, that India may be developing.
It means in fact that even a limited fielding of a partly unproven Indian ballistic missile defense capability (as DRDO is actually planning) could be enough to compel Pakistan to grow its nuclear arsenal – with all the potential dangers that this entails.
China
Although DRDO’s capabilities are far from proven when pitted against Chinese ICBMs, such as the DF-41, a nationwide BMD system could create in China the perception that India it is preparing for a first strike; a perception which may be anything except good.
At a time when India and China are making a renewed effort to secure a long-term agreement on the status of their borders, BMD developments could therefore worsen the trajectory of their relationship, all while offering India uncertain returns.
