DRDO DEVELOPING SUBMARINE-LAUNCHED CRUISE MISSILE FOR P75 KALVARI CLASS SUBMARINES

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DRDO is developing SLCM for P75 Kalvari class submarines. The missile will be torpedo tube launched reports Raflanker twitter handle.

The system is planned to have two variants one an anti-ship variant with RF seeker and the other land attack variant with EO seeker having Digital Scene Matching Area Correlator (DSMAC) technology for terminal guidance.

The Indian Navy wants its Project-75 (I) boats to be capable of carrying 12 land-attack and anti-ship cruise missiles.

From an analysis of media reports, it seems that the IN is looking at a vertical launch system (VLS) for missiles. The standard diameter of most torpedoes in a submarine is 21inch/ 533 mm. They are around eight metres long. Accordingly, most missiles launched by a submarine against ships or for precision land-attack began as tube-launched versions. But, even a slight increase in diameter of a VLS cell enables a larger missile with a greater range, high-Mach speeds, different propulsion package, greater warhead etc.

Tactically, VLS launch capability enables a boat offensively deployed in an enemy’s littoral to quickly launch a full-load salvo or a better part of its capacity. Theoretically, a salvo of 10-12 SLCMs could be up and away in less than two minutes.

India currently has two cruise missiles - the in-service supersonic BrahMos and the under-development subsonic Nirbhay. In all likelihood, a version of the BrahMos cruise missile will equip the Project-75(I) boats. According to its maker, BrahMos Aerospace, the missile can be fired from a depth of 40-50 meters, and all stimulation trials related to underwater launch have been completed.

A submarine-launched version of the Indo-Russian missile was successfully test-fired from a submerged platform in 2013. Back then, the Chief Executive Officer of BrahMos Aerospace, Dr A Sivathanu Pillai, had said that the “BrahMos missile is fully ready for fitment in P75(I) of Indian Navy in vertical launch configuration which will make it one of the most powerful weapon platforms in the World.”

Moreover, Russia has said that it has already worked out the option of integrating the submarine-launched version of the BrahMos missile on its Amur-class submarines which have been offered to India under Project-75(I).

Apart from reducing the import cost, integration of a home-grown cruise missile will address the issue of availability and upgrade. An indigenous system is much more likely to be available to the navy at short notice, and, most importantly, will be much easier to upgrade for future use than one which is imported. As the BrahMos is also used by a number of surface vessels of the navy, commonality will be another major advantage of its integration on new submarines.
 

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