domain-b.com : AeroIndia 2009: DRDO has developed extreme technologies, says Dr Prahlad
DRDO has developed extreme technologies, says Dr Prahlad news
In a wide ranging,comprehensive interview on DRDO's capabilties and development programme, Dr Prahalad, chief controller R&D (SI), points out that the gap between users needs and DRDO's capabilities is reducing. The organisation is now fully capable of working out a road map with the army, navy and air force to develop weapon systems needed over the next 5-7 years.
Dr Prahalad,
Distinguished scientist and chief controller, R&D (SI), DRDO
1. C
ould you speak about the Akash and Nag missiles? How do they fare with comparable technologies and how far away are they from induction?
The Akash and Nag missiles were part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme begun in 1984 under Dr Abdul Kalam as the chairman.
We then took a purposeful decision that Akash and Nag would be the most complex and sophisticated missile systems in the IGMDP.
So, it was given the maximum time also, as compared to Prithvi, Trishul and Agni and others. Akash and Nag were given nearly 15 years. So, we knew at that time it was a very complex system and taking up the challenge we began developing these two systems.
In case of Akash, it has been uniquely configured and customised for our own Indian Army and air force. During the initial discussions with the army and the air force, they gave some requirements like it should be mobile, it should have a 30 km range, a very effective high kill probability, it should be integrated with the automatic command and control system, it cannot be manually operated, should have
multiple target handling capability, which means that several targets could be engaged with several missiles simultaneously.
In most missile systems you have boost and coast – that is you boost the missile for some time and allow it to coast, or, boost, sustain and coast. The requirement here, however, was continuous thrust, or, all the way thrust. Once you start coasting, the maneuverability of the missile comes down. This was not acceptable to the services. They felt it should be continuously maneuverable till it intercepts the target, which meant the requirement was that the power/thrust had to be continuously on.
These were a unique set of requirements –such a missile doesn't exist anywhere in the world and it meant that we had to uniquely configure the missiles. That's how Akash was realised,
We took 5 years more than what we promised to the army and air force, but when tested in the last development phase the results were 9/9 –that is out of the 9 missiles tested all them met the guidance and accuracy control requirements. Based on these tests the Indian Air Force has placed orders for 2 squadrons and the army is expected to follow suit.
Bharat Electronics will be the nodal production agency along with Bharat Dynamics and there will be at least 40 industries from the public and private sectors that will be involved with the manufacture of these missiles in large numbers.
So, this is one story and we expect that based on the expenditure of Rs600 crore that we have invested in the Akash missile, business worth about Rs7,000 crore should result for radars, missiles, launchers and control systems all put together within the next 5 years.
So, this is the story for Akash.
Coming to Nag, similarly, this missile is meant for the army, which wanted a missile with a 4-km range and fire-and-forget capability. That means we launch the missile from a tank and leave the place - this is also called the shoot-and-scoot technique.
The Nag was specifically designed with a fire-and-forget capability.
The missile has what is called a tandem warhead. The warhead will have two stages – in the first stage the missile will make a hole in an enemy tank and in the second stage it will go inside and blow it up. This is a very special technology and we had to perfect it.
So this is the Nag- a tandem warhead, 4-km, tank-mounted, fire-and-forget, and very accurate, missile.
The last flight test has been successfully completed in day and night desert conditions in short range and long range test firings and we expect the army to place an order over the next couple of months.
2. The 'Shaurya' was a surprise development – where does it fit into the Indian missile spectrum?
If you look at our long-range strategic missiles you know we have
Prithvi and Agni for ballistic or near-ballistic systems. Prithvi is a liquid fuel system and Agni is a solid fuel system.
Now the Agni has certain mobility, certain freedom to move from place to place. The Prithvi has its own certain requirements - it requires preparation time because of its liquid engines.
So we had to configure a unique third missile called 'Shaurya' which can be canisterised. Once sealed in a canister, it can be taken to any place giving it great tactical and operational advantage. It canbe deployed anywhere - in hilly terrain, desert etc. It is a relatively light, highly mobile, solid propellant fuelled missile. There is no preparation required.
So it has its own USP - and as per the requirement of the services we will be taking up the production of Shaurya.
3. The country's BMD technology would appear to be moving apace – could you dwell on aspects of the technologies that are being brought into play for the whole programme?
Ballistic Missile Defence or missile defence systems, are developed based on the threat perceptions as presented to us by the armed forces, which take into consideration threats from our neighbours, their plans etc. Based on these inputs we are developing certain critical technologies against ballistic missiles.
For this we need some unique technologies, such as high-speed propulsion, which can take missiles to hypersonic speeds. You need a high burning rate, solid propellants, which can take the missile quickly to high Mach number.
We need very high accuracy guidance so that the missile can even physically obliterate a hostile missile – what is called a
hit-to-kill capability. For this we need not only radio gadgets but also thermal infra-red gadgets.
So for this we need a combined dual-guidance –not only radar but also imaging guidance. This requires very high accuracy algorithms.
Also we need very quick reaction systems. When somebody launches a ballistic missile the time available to react to the threat is very short - a few seconds. So, the instant you know a missile has been launched you have to launch the defence system within seconds, fly at a much higher speed than the attacking missile and intercept very accurately at very high altitudes. So this requires what is known as extreme technologies. These have now been developed and we are trying to integrate these technologies and produce a weapon that can be used by the armed forces.
4. How do you look at an era of increased international cooperation in the development of technologies in the defence sector?
This is the new era of 2000+. In the 80s when we started our major system programmes like Arjun or Sonar or IGMDP or torpedo or radar, we never had the opportunity of international co-operation.
We were buying some components and making everything in-house. We built the computer from scratch from circuit boards. That was an era where we had to do everything in-house and within our industries and everything was a long drawn out and hard process.
Whereas in 2000, fortunately, the whole world has recognised our capability by seeing our LCA, main battle tank Arjun, radars, torpedoes, missiles and small arms that are in production. Our capabilities in prototyping, developing, testing and fielding our own weapons have been recognised.
So now they know that they cannot take us for granted. If they want business, they have to work together. Many countries have come forward for collaborative research and joint development. We have projects now with USA, Israel, Russia, Italy, Germany, Belarus, Brazil, France, UK among others.
In the 80s era what used to take 15 years to make we can now make in 5 years to 7 years. So, we have cut down the development time by almost 1/3rd because of the immense opportunities for international collaboration.
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