Indian missiles that every defence aspirant should know (SSB)

Indian missiles that every defence aspirant should know (SSB)

Being a defence aspirant you must be aware of Indian missiles. When we talk about the progress and strength of any country then definitely the missile system is a decisive factor. It simply shows that how powerful a nation is in terms of defending itself from any threats from their rivals. The missile system of any country also creates a notion in the mind of the rival countries that any tyrannical step against that country could be disastrous, thus maintains harmony in some manner.

Taking the blog further we will discuss the categorization of missiles i.e. Ballistic missiles and the Cruise missiles.

Ballistic Missiles:

It is simply a missile, with a high trajectory, which is initially powered and guided but falls under gravity on its target. A ballistic missile follows a ballistic trajectory to deliver one or more warheads on a predetermined target. The shorter range ballistic missiles stay within the Earth’s atmosphere, while longer-ranged intercontinental ballistic missiles are launched on a sub-orbital flight trajectory and spent most of the time out of the atmosphere.

Cruise Missiles:

A cruise missile is a guided missile used against territorial targets and follows a trajectory parallel to the surface of the earth. It remains the most of the time in the atmosphere and flies path at a constant speed. Also, these missiles are designed to deliver large warheads over large distances and that too with a very high precision.

Different Indian Missiles and their ranges you should know about:

Agni Missiles:

The Agni missiles are a family of medium to intercontinental range ballistic missiles developed by India. It is named after one of the five element of Earth. Agni was manufactured by DRDO Defence Research and Development Organization. Lastly, The missile is launched from 8 × 8 TELAR (Transporter erector launcher) Rail Mobile Launch platform.

• First is Agni I: 15m tall, 12 ton, solid fueled, Medium Range Ballistic missile. It has a range of about 700-800km
• Second is Agni II: 21m tall, it is a medium range ballistic missile with a range of 2000-3000 km.
• Third, Agni III: 17m tall, it is an intermediate range ballistic missile, with a range of 3000-5000 km.
• Fourth, Agni IV 20m tall, it is an Intermediate range ballistic missile, with a range of 3000-4000km.
• Lastly, Agni V: 17.5m tall, Agni V is an intercontinental ballistic missile in developed by Indian with a range of 5000-6000 km.

Prithvi Missiles:

Named after the planet Earth it is a surface to surface, short range ballistic missile developed by DRDO. Prithvi missile was inducted in service in the year 1994. Finally, It has the same launcher as that of Agni.

• Prithvi I: It is 9m tall, has a range of 150 km and a payload capacity of 1000kg.
• Prithvi II: It is an air force version of the Prithvi missiles which is 8.5m tall, with a range of 250 km and payload capacity of 500 kg.
• Prithvi III (Dhanush): It is the naval version of the Prithvi missile. It is also 8.5m tall, with a range of 350 km and payload capacity of 500 kg.

Astra Missile:

It is named after the Hindi word for weapons ‘Astra’, developed by DRDO in 2017, it is 3.57m tall. It is an air to air missile with a range of 80 km and tail chase mode up to 20 km. Above all, the launch platform of Astra missile is Su-30MKI

Trishul Missile:

It is named after the weapon of lord Shiva ‘Trishul’, the trishul class of missiles are known for short range, quick reaction. They were launched from naval vessels and were fired as a sea skimmer. Moreover, the missile is 3.1m tall, Range 9 km with a payload of 5.5 kg. Trishul missile is also a product of DRDO. Lastly, trishul missile had been de-linked from user service and would be continued as a technology demonstrator.

Akash Missile:

The Akash Missile is a medium range surface to air missile 578 cm tall with a range of 30-35 km. Its name in Hindi basically means ‘the sky’. It was manufactured by DRDO in 2009. The launch platform for air force version has been integrated with both wheeled and tracked vehicles while the Army’s radar and launchers are based on the T-72 chassis

BrahMos Missile:

BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarine, ships, sea or land. The missile is jointly developed by Indian and Russia. Further, it is 8.4m tall and has a range of about 200 km which is likely to be improved in its advanced version. Finally, it’s a powerful weapon known globally.

Nag Missile:

It is an anti-tank missile, fire and forget class, which simply means once it is detonated it will automatically chase its moving target. Further, it has a range of 4-6 km for land version and 7-8 km for aerial version. It’s launch platform include Nag Missile Carrier (NAMICA), HAL Rudra Helicopter (Testing) and HAL Light Combat Helicopter (Planned)

Sagarika Missile:

It also has code names like K-15 or B-05, it is a nuclear capable submarine launched ballistic missile with a range of 750 km. Also, It is 10 m long, weighing 7 ton, manufactured by DRDO in 2010. The launch platform used is arihant-class submarines

Shaurya Missile:

The Shaurya missile is basically a canister launched hyper sonic surface to surface tactical missile that was developed by DRDO for the use of the tri- services. Also, it has a range of about 700-1900 km, and payload capacity of one ton. Lastly, it is launched from Canisterised launch TEL or underground SILO.

Nirbhay Missile:

Nirbhay in Hindi simply means fearless, it is a long range subsonic stealth cruise missile, it is an all-weather missile which can be launched from multiple platforms as well. It is 6m tall, with payload capacity of 200-300 kg and range upto 1000 km. It is under development. Nirbhay missile is launched from vertical launch system built by TATA.

In conclusion, we must thank the organization DRDO and Late President Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam for gifting us these big guns which keep us safe from our rivals and also adds up to the strength of our country.