TIPS

2009-01-12T21:33:00.000-08:00

DRDO Nishant:

DRDO Nishant

Role	Military UAV
Manufacturer	DRDO
Designed by	DRDO
First flight	1995
Status	Trials
Primary user	Indian Army
Produced	12(on order)

The DRDO Nishant is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) developed by India's ADE (Aeronautical Development Establishment) a branch of DRDO for the Indian Armed Forces. The Nishant UAV is primarily tasked with intelligence gathering over enemy territory and also for recce, surveillance, target designation, artillery fire correction, damage assessment, ELINT and SIGINT. The UAV has an Endurance of 4 hrs & 30min. Nishant has completed development Phase and User trials.

The 380 kg Nishant UAV requires rail-launching from a hydro-pneumatic launcher and recovered by a Parachute System. Launches at a velocity of 45 m/s are carried out in 0.6 seconds with 100 kW power and subsequent launches can be carried out in intervals of 20 minutes. The Mobile Hydro-Pneumatic Launcher (MHPL) system mounted on a Tatra truck weighs 14,000 kg and boasts of a life cycle of 1000 launches before requiring overhaul.Nishant is one of the few UAVs in the world in its weight-class capable of being catapult-launched and recovered by using parachute, thus eliminating the need for a runway as in case of conventional take-off and landing with wheels.

Development:

Nishant UAV

To meet the Army’s operational requirement of an RPV it was decided in September 1988 that the Defence Research and Development Organisation would undertake the indigenous development of the UAV. The General Staff Qualitative Requirement (GSQR) was finalised by the Army in May 1990. The Nishant RPV made its first test flight in 1995. In July 1999, for the first time the Indian army deployed its new Nishant UAV system in the fight against guerilla forces backed by Pakistan in Kashmir. Nishant, which had been developed for battlefield surveillance and reconnaissance needs of the Indian Army, was test flown again in early 2002. The indigenous Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) Nishant developed by DRDO had completed its 100th flight by June 15 2005. The Indian Army has placed an order for 12 Nishant UAVs along with ground support systems. Nishant Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) developed by DRDO for Indian Army was successfully flight tested near Kolar on 20th June 2008. Nishant has completed development Phase and User trials. The present flight tests are Pre Confirmatory Trials before induction into Services.

Features:

Nishant UAV on its launcher

Day/Night Capability
Battlefield reconnaissance & surveillance
Target tracking and localization
Artillery fire correction
All terrain mobility
Target Designation (using integral Laser Target Designator)
Endurance : 4 hrs. 30min.

Ground Support Systems:

Mobile Hydro-Pneumatic Launcher (MHPL) system

Mobile Hydro-Pneumatic Launcher (MHPL)
Ground Control Station (GCS)
Antenna Vehicle
Avionics Preparation / Maintenance Vehicle
Mechanical Maintenance Vehicle
UAV Transportation Vehicle
Power supply Vehicle

Specifications (DRDO Nishant):

This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.

Data from {name of first source}

General characteristics:

Crew: None
Length: 4.63 m (15.2 ft)
Wingspan: 6.57 m (21.6 ft)
Height: ()
Empty weight: 380 kg (837.8 lb)
Useful load: 45 kg (99.2 lb)
Powerplant: 1× RE-2-21-P or RE-4-37-P, ()

Performance:

Maximum speed: 185 km/h
Cruise speed: 125 km/h to 150 km/h
Range: 160 km (99.5 mi)
Service ceiling 3600 m (up to 11,810 ft)

Launch & recovery:

Launch: Mobile Hydro-Pneumatic Launcher (MHPL) system
Recovery: Parachute + Landing Bags

LIGHT COMBAT AIRCRAFT (LCA)

2009-01-12T21:28:00.000-08:00

LCA is an advanced technology, single seat, single engine, supersonic, light-weight, all-weather, multi-role, air superiority fighter designed for air-to-air, air-to-ground and air-to-sea combat roles. The purpose of flight test programme: was to validate a number of advanced technologies incorporated in LCA. These include: Unstable configuration, quadruplex fly-by-wire digital flight control system, integrated avionics with glass cockpit, advanced composite materials for primary structure and a novel utility systems management system.

The LCA programme was conceived in 1983. The project definition phase was completed in 1989 and the full scale engineering development (FSED) phase-I was sanctioned in 1993. The development effort for LCA is spearheaded by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), an autonomous society under the Department of Defence Research & Development. ADA is responsible for project design, project monitoring and promoting the development of advanced technologies of relevance to the LCA. The principal partner of LCA is Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and its divisions located in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Nasik, and Korwa. The DRDO laboratories that have participated in the design and development of LCA are: Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bangalore; Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad; Combat Vehicles Research & Development Establishment (CVRDE), Avadi; Electronics & Radar Development Establishment (LRDE), Bangalore; Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), Bangalore; Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR), Bangalore; Advanced Systems Integration & Evaluation Organisation (ASIEO), Bangalore; Defence Bio-engineering & Electro-medical Laboratory (DEBEL), Bangalore; Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad; Aerial Delivery Research & Development Establishment (ADRDE), Armament R&D Establishment (ARDE), Pune; High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune; Centre for Military Airworthiness & Certification (CEMILAC), Bangalore; and
Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), Hyderabad. The other collaborating organisations are:

Dhruv

2009-01-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

HAL Dhruv

Dhruv

Dhruv helicopter of the Indian Air Force Sarang Helicopter Display Team arriving at RIAT 2008, England.
Role	Utility helicopter
National origin	India
Manufacturer	Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
First flight	1992
Introduced	2002
Status	Active
Primary users	Indian Army Indian Air Force Indian Navy Nepalese Army Air Service
Produced	80 in service + over 235 on order^[1]
Unit cost	USD 8 mn (Rs 30-35 crore - basic version)^[2]
Variants	HAL Light Combat Helicopter

The HAL Dhruv (Sanskrit: ध्रुव, "Pole Star") is a multi-role helicopter developed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It is being supplied to the Indian Armed Forces, and a civilian variant is also available. The type was first exported to Nepal and Israel, and is on order by several other countries for both military and commercial uses. Specialized military variants include anti-submarine warfare and helicopter gunship versions.

Development:

Production line of the HAL Dhruv at HAL, Bangalore

Hindustan's Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) programme was first announced in November 1984, but progress was slow. Even after the first prototype flew in August 1992, problems arose due to the changing demands of the Indian military, funding, and contractual issues with Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm, which was the consultant for design. Further delay was caused by U.S. sanctions after Indian nuclear tests in 1998, which embargoed the engine originally intended to power the helicopter. Then the helicopter used Turbomeca TM 333-2B2 turboshaft producing 746 kW (1000 SHP) each and an agreement was signed with Turbomeca to develop a more powerful engine.

A Weapon System Integrated (WSI) Dhruv is under development for the Indian Military services. It will have stub wings fitted to carry up to eight anti-armour missiles, four air-to-air missiles or four rocket pods for 70mm and 68mm rockets. The WSI variant will also have FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared), CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera and a target acquisition system with thermal sight and laser rangefinder.

In December 2006, Nexter Systems (formerly Giat) was awarded a contract for the installation of the THL 20 20mm gun turret on the first 20 Indian forces Dhruv helicopters. The turret is armed with the M621 low-recoil cannon and is combined with a helmet-mounted sight.

The helicopter was fitted with the more powerful Shakti engine developed jointly by HAL and Turbomeca, and now entering production. The first test flight of the Dhruv with the new engine and the weaponised version took place on 16 August 2007. The naval version of the helicopter is fitted with the Mihir dunking SONAR^[7] which is integrated with the Helicopter Fire Control System.

Operational history:

Military service:

Sarang team performing.

Deliveries of the Dhruv commenced in 2002, a full ten years after the prototype's first flight, and nearly twenty years after the programme was initiated. The Indian Coast Guard became the first service to bring Dhruv helicopters into service. This was followed by the Indian Army, Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force. Seventy five Dhruvs were delivered to the Indian armed forces by 2007 and the plan is to produce forty helicopters yearly. One of only three helicopter display teams in the world, the Sarang aerobatic display team of the Indian Air Force performs with four Dhruv helicopters.

The Dhruv is capable of flying at high altitudes, a crucial requirement for the Army, which requires helicopters for operations in Siachen Glacier and Kashmir. In September 2007, the Dhruv was cleared for high-altitude flying in the Siachen Sector after six-month long trials.. In October 2007, a Dhruv flew to an altitude of 27,500 ft ASL in Siachen. This was the highest that the Dhruv had flown, and was higher than the 25,000 ft record set by an IAF Cheetah helicopter in 2005.

A further order for 166 helicopters were placed with HAL since the helicopter is working well in higher altitude areas with the Indian Army. The Armed Forces may order 12 ambulances versions for use by the Armed Forces Medical Services for MEDEVAC operations . HAL Dhruv ambulances will have all the emergency medical equipment for the treatment of injured soldiers.

In June 2008, the Hindustan Times reported that the Indian Navy had decided against placing further orders for the Dhruv Naval variant, stating it has failed to meet basic operational requirements. these rumours were put to rest by the recent comments of the defence minister who stated in the parliament that the navy had not rejected the dhruv as eight Dhruv helicopters are already operating in the Utility role. The Anti-submarine version will not be inducted since it did not suit the requirements of the Indian Navy in anti-submarine role.

Civilian service:

HAL also produces a civilian variant of the Dhruv for VIP transport, rescue, policing, offshore operations and air-ambulance role, among others. The interiors of the VIP transport version have been designed by DC Design, an Indian automobile design firm .

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has placed an order for 12 Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Chief Test Pilot Wing Commander Upadhyay said the helicopters will have a full set of medical equipment, including ventilators and two stretchers.

Other buyers include the Geological Survey of India (GSI) (1 Helicopter), ONGC for its offshore operations, as well as state governments for VIP transport and policing.

Foreign sales:

The Dhruv has become the first major Indian weapons system to have secured large foreign sales. HAL hopes to sell 120 Dhruvs over the next eight years, and has been displaying the Dhruv at airshows, including Farnborough and Paris in order to market the Dhruv.

With a unit price at least 15% less than its rivals, Dhruv has elicited interest in many countries, mostly from Latin America, Africa, West Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific Rim nations. Air forces from around 35 countries have sent in their inquiries, along with requests for demonstrations.

The first foreign orders for the Dhruv were placed by Nepal in early 2004, for 2 Dhruvs. Dhruv, a civilian version, was leased to the Israeli Defense Ministry in 2004.

In June 2008, the government of Peru ordered two air ambulance Dhruvs for use by the Peruvian health services. Peru has also shown interest in the military version Dhruv. HAL also secured an order from the Ecuadorian Air Force for seven Dhruvs. HAL has gained this order amidst strong competition from Elbit, Eurocopter and Kazan. HAL’s offer of $ 50.7 million for seven helicopters was about 32% lower than the second lowest bid from Elbit. The first helicopter will be delivered within six months. Dhruv also participated in a Chilean tender for 8-10 5.5 tonne, twin engined new generation helicopter, but lost to the Bell Helicopters Bell amid allegations of arm-twisting by the US Government. The evaluation included flights at high altitudes, hot and desert conditions, ship deck landing, search and rescue at 12,500 ft MSL at a temperature of 2° C as well as long distance ferry flights, clocking 107 flying hours.

On August 10, 2008 HAL chairman confirmed it had finalized a deal with Turkey to supply 3 Dhruvs for $20 million. Turkey is planning to buy as many as 17 helicopters in medical assistance role.

India is also reportedly planning to transfer several Dhruvs to Myanmar. This led to protests from Amnesty International, who pointed to the use of components sourced from European suppliers as a possible violation of the EU Arms Embargo of Myanmar. In a letter to the President of the EU Council of Ministers, Amnesty stated that it had evidence that India planned to transfer two Dhruvs (with European components) to Burma.. These reports have been denied by the Indian Government.

HAL is negotiating with Bolivia for delivery of five Dhruvs and with Venezuela for seven of the choppers in transport roles, and in Europe. The Dhruv is also being offered to Malaysia. is also evaluating Dhruv helicopters for the Indonesian Army.

Flight certification for Europe and North America is also being planned, in order to tap the large civilian market there.

Lakshya, The Indian UAV

2009-01-12T20:35:00.000-08:00

Lakshya is a surface/ship launched high subsonic reusable aerial target system, remotely piloted from ground. It provides training to the gun/missile crew and to air defence pilots for weapon engagement. The country has reached self reliance in this class of unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The Lakshya is a turbojet system designed as an RPV. India is also developing it as an air- or land-launched variant cruise missile system capable of carrying a 350 kg payload to a range of 600 kms. It was initially projected to enter service by 1998. By April 2002 the Pilotless Target Aircraft (PTA) Lakshya had been inducted by Indian Air Force and Indian Navy. The Lakshyas developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are fully operational with the users.

Training of pilots in air-to-air weaponry and target practice of surface-to-air missile batteries and guns is a regular peace time drill of all the three Services. In such training, certain amount of live firing practice is essential against realistic airborne targets for proper perception of actual threat parameters likely to be encountered. For this purpose, use of recoverable Pilotless Target Aircraft (PTA) with towed sub-targets had long been considered the most cost effective option. The PTA was also required for evaluation/development trials of new surface-to-air and air-to-air weapon systems.

Several indigenously developed payloads are now available for UAV applications, such as electro-optic imaging, laser ranging and designation system, airborne laser ranger and marker (ALARM), and airborne infra-red target sensor. The gimballed payload assembly (GPA), a two-axes stabilised platform for CCD camera and laser range finder payloads, has been developed to provide azimuth and elevation stabilisation of the sight line against aircraft motion and jitter. An advanced correlation technique-based video tracker has been integrated with this platform for automatic target tracking. The entire system can be installed on manned or unmanned aircraft. The system can also be configured to carry different electro-optic payload combinations.

Two types of scoring systems have been developed as a part of Lakshya aerial target tow body electronics for estimation of the miss distance. The acoustic miss distance indicator (AMDI), which utilises the over pressure produced by the supersonic projectile to estimate the miss distance, provides both distance and sector information. The other system is based on Doppler FM-CW radar principle.

Comprehensive capabilities have been established in all aspects of flight control design and engineering for unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) which include design of control laws, flight control electronics, sensors and actuators. Digital processors, software and analog flight control electronics and electromechanical actuators have been developed. The flight control electronics (FCE) for Lakshya aircraft employs an analog electronic design backed by an ASIC to perform flight control and recovery functions of the aircraft. In addition to altitude stabilisation and other flight control functions, the FCE also provides command and autopilot modes.

The need to develop PTA indigenously was identified in 1976. An Inter Services Qualitative Requirement (ISQR), common to the three Services, was formulated by a Working Group constituted by the Ministry of Defence in January 1977 and 35 ISQR points were identified. Subsequently, based on a feasibility study carried out by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) , the project for the design and development of Inter-Services PTA by ADE, satisfying the ISQR was sanctioned by Government in September 1980 at a cost of Rs. 17 crore including a foreign exchange (FE) element of Rs. 8 crore. The development activity was planned for completion within five years. In parallel, a development project for indigenous development of PTA Engine (PTAE-7) was also sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs.4.5 crore (FE Rs. One crore) to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in September 1980, based on a feasibility study and project proposal submitted by HAL. The engine was to be developed by HAL by September 1985, concurrently with the PTA.

At the time of conceptualising the PTA project, it was envisaged that development of PTA would be undertaken by ADE while the series production after successful development would be entrusted to HAL. As the Air Force and the Navy required PTA urgently, the Ministry decided in May 1994 and March 1995 that 10 PTA would be produced (five each for the Air Force and Navy) by ADE at a total cost of Rs.28.86 crore. Though the series production of PTA after its successful development was planned to be entrusted to HAL, DRDO did not transfer technology till 1997. Indian Air Force had received the phase I and II deliveries (3 aircraft, ground systems and expendables) in September 1999 and April, 2000. Indian Navy was scheduled to receive its first phase deliveries in November 2000. As per the projected requirement, during 1986-96, the Services should have required 935 (11x85) PTA for providing ideal air-to-air and surface-to-air weaponry target practices. Against this, a mere 25 PTA were imported between December 1985 and March 1995

TIPS: Instrument surrender of Pakistan in 1971 War

2009-01-08T21:07:00.000-08:00

TIPS: Instrument surrender of Pakistan in 1971 War

Instrument surrender of Pakistan in 1971 War

2009-01-01T20:45:00.000-08:00

Our Heros of 26 november

2008-12-26T03:53:00.000-08:00

INDIAS WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

2008-12-23T20:48:00.000-08:00

India is believed to possess an arsenal of nuclear weapons and maintains intermediate-range ballistic missiles, long range strategic bombers, ships and cruise missile submarines to deliver them. Although it lacks ballistic missile submarines India has ambitions of becoming a Nuclear triad country in the near future (Possibly before 2010). Though India has not made any official statements about the size of its nuclear arsenal, estimates suggest that India has between 40 and 95 nuclear weapons, consistent with estimates that it has produced enough weapons-grade plutonium for up to 110 nuclear weapons. Weapons-grade plutonium production is believed to be taking place at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, which is home to the CIRUS reactor acquired from Canada, to the indigenous Dhruva reactor, and to a plutonium separation facility. In addition, India is estimated to have separated enough reactor-grade plutonium to manufacture up to 1000 nuclear weapons, if it chose to do so.

According to a January 2001 U.S Department of Defense report, "India probably has a small stockpile of nuclear weapon components and could assemble and deploy a few nuclear weapons within a few days to a week." A 2001 RAND study by Ashley Tellis asserts that India does not seek to deploy a ready nuclear arsenal.

According to a report in Jane's Intelligence Review, India's objective is to have a nuclear arsenal that is "strategically active but operationally dormant", which would allow India to maintain its retaliatory capability "within a matter of hours to weeks, while simultaneously exhibiting restraint." However, the report also maintains that, in the future, India may face increasing institutional pressure to shift its nuclear arsenal to a fully deployed status.

Brief Historical Overview:

Agni II was India's first long range missile

The AGNI III in 2003

As early as June 26, 1946, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, soon to be India's first Prime Minister, announced:

“

As long as the world is constituted as it is, every country will have to devise and use the latest devices for its protection. I have no doubt India will develop her scientific researches and I hope Indian scientists will use the atomic force for constructive purposes. But if India is threatened, she will inevitably try to defend herself by all means at her disposal.

”

India's first Nuclear test occurred on 18 May 1974. Since then India has conducted another series of test at the Pokhran test range in the state of Rajasthan in 1998. India has an extensive civil and military nuclear program, which includes at least 10 nuclear reactors, uranium mining and milling sites, heavy water production facilities, a uranium enrichment plant, fuel fabrication facilities, and extensive nuclear research capabilities.

Current Arsenal and Estimates of Force Inventory:

It is widely estimated that India currently has approximately 200 warheads. It is known that about 75% of its warheads are assembled and the rest are in a sub-assembled position, and the number is expected to grow in time.

David Albright's report published by Institute for Science and International Security on 2000 estimates that India at end of 1999 had 310 kilograms of weapon grade plutonium which is enough for 65 nuclear weapons. He also estimates that India has 4200 kg of reactor grade unsafeguarded plutonium which is enough to build 1000 nuclear weapons. By the end of 2004, he estimates India had 445 kilograms of weapon grade plutonium which is enough for around 85 nuclear weapons considering 5 kg of plutonium required for each weapon

Former RAW official J.K. Sinha claimed that India has capability to produce 130 kilograms of weapon grade plutonium from six unsafeguarded reactors not included in nuclear deal between India and United States.

Doctrine:

India has a declared nuclear no-first-use policy and is in the process of developing a nuclear doctrine based on "credible minimum deterrence." In August 1999, the Indian government released a draft of the asserts that nuclear weapons are solely for deterrence and that India will pursue a policy of "retaliation only." The document also maintains that India "will not be the first to initiate a nuclear first strike, but will respond with punitive retaliation should deterrence fail" and that decisions to authorize the use of nuclear weapons would be made by the Prime Minister or his 'designated successor(s).'"

According to the NRDC, despite the escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan in 2001-2002, India remains committed to its nuclear no-first-use policy. But an Indian foreign ministry official told Defense News in 2000 that a "'no-first-use' policy does not mean India will not have a first-strike capability."

Command and Control:

India's Strategic Nuclear Command was formally established in 2003, with an Air Force officer, Air Marshall Asthana, as the Commander-in-Chief. The joint services SNC is the custodian of all of India's nuclear weapons, missiles and assets. It is also responsible for executing all aspects of India's nuclear policy. However, the civil leadership, in the form of the CCS (Cabinet Committee on Security) is the only body authorized to order a nuclear strike against another offending strike: In effect, it is the Prime Minister who has his finger "on the button".

International Treaties:

The Thermonuclear device used in the Pokran Test. There were numerous sanctions after the tests

India is not a signatory to either the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), but did accede to the Partial Test Ban Treaty in October 1963. India is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and four of its 13 nuclear reactors are subject to IAEA safeguards.

India announced its lack of intention to accede to the NPT as late as 1997 by voting against the paragraph of a General Assembly Resolutionwhich urged all non-signatories of the treaty to accede to it at the earliest possible date.

India voted against the UN General Assembly resolution endorsing the CTBT, which was adopted on September 10, 1996. India objected to the lack of provision for universal nuclear disarmament "within a time-bound framework." India also demanded that the treaty ban laboratory simulations. In addition, India opposed the provision in Article XIV of the CTBT that requires India's ratification for the treaty to enter into force, which India argued was a violation of its sovereign right to choose whether it would sign the treaty. In early February 1997, Foreign Minister Gujral reiterated India's opposition to the treaty, saying that "India favors any step aimed at destroying nuclear weapons, but considers that the treaty in its current form is not comprehensive and bans only certain types of tests."

Controversially the United States is now willing to provide India access to civilian nuclear technology through the 2006 United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act, despite India not being a member of the NPT which normally precludes such international cooperation. This is the direct result of the fact that India is recognized by the US and many other developed regions of the world as an important ally in the war on terror and further testifies to the fact that the West believes that the nuclear technology is intended for peaceful purposes.

Delivery Systems:

Ballistic Missiles:

Prithvi I

Dhanush ballistic missile launched from INS Subhadra, a modified patrol vessel.

Nuclear capable Agni-III missile can travel 5000Km with the normal 1000Kg payload

The Shaurya Missile is India's main second strike missile

Sagarika submarine launched ballistic missile

Under former president Dr. Abdul Kalam India pursued the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) which was an Indian Ministry of Defence program for the development of a comprehensive range of missiles, including the intermediate range Agni missile (Surface to Surface), and short range missiles such as the Prithvi ballistic missile (Surface to Surface), Akash missile (Surface to Air), Trishul missile (Surface to Air) and Nag Missile (Anti Tank). Other projects such Indian Ballistic Missile Defense Program have derived from the IGMDP. In 2005, India became only the fourth country to have Anti Ballistic capability when India tested two systems the AAD and PAD.

India has methodically built an indigenous missile production capability, using its commercial space-launch program to develop the skills and infrastructure needed to support an offensive ballistic missile program. For example, during the 1980s, India conducted a series of space launches using the solid-fueled SLV-3 booster. Most of these launches put light satellites into near-earth orbit. Elements of the SLV-3 were subsequently incorporated into two new programs. In the first, the new polar-space launch vehicle (PSLV) was equipped with six SLV-3 motors strapped to the PSLV's first stage. The Agni IRBM technology demonstrator uses the SLV-3 booster as its first stage.

Prithvi

The Prithvi I is mobile liquid-fueled 150 kilometer tactical missile currently deployed with army units. It is claimed that this missile is equipped only with various conventional warheads (which stay attached to the missile over the entire flight path). The missile is of particular interest to the United States (and potential buyers) in that has the capability of maneuvering in flight so as to follow one of several different preprogrammed trajectories. Based on the same design, a modified Prithvi, the Prithvi II, is essentially a longer-ranged version of the Prithvi I except that it has a 250-kilometer range and a lighter payload. It is suspected that any nuclear missions will be executed by the Prithvi II. Currently, the Prithvi II has completed development and is now in production. When fielded, it will be deployed with air force units for the purpose of deep target attacking manoeuvres against objectives such as air fields.

The Prithvi missile project encompassed developing 3 variants for use by the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. The initial project framework of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program outlines the variants in the following manner.

- Prithvi I - Army Version (150 km range with a payload of 1,000kg)
- Prithvi II - Air Force Version (250 km range with a payload of 500kg)
- Prithvi III - Naval Version (350 km range with a payload of 500kg)

Dhanush

Dhanush (in Sanskrit/Hindi means Bow) is a system consisting of a stabilization platform (Bow) and the Missile (Arrow). Dhanush is a System consisting of stabilization platform and missiles and can fire either the 250Km or the 350Km range missiles. Supposedly it is a customised version of the Prithvi and that the additional customizations in missile configuration is to certify it for sea worthiness. Dhanush has to be launched from a hydraulically stabilized launch pad. Its low range acts against it and thus it is seen a weapons either to be used to destroy an aircraft carrier or an enemy port. The missile has been tested from the the INS Rajput destroyer many times and there are also reports that it has been further customised in order to launch it from the Ballistic Missile submarine, ATV. For now the missile's 250 variant has been tested twice from the INS Subhadra and the 350Km variant has been tested from INS Rajput.

Agni.

The Agni Missile system comprises of Agni I, Agni II and the Agni III 1500 Agni I uses the SLV-3 booster (from India's Space Program) for its first stage and a liquid-fueled Prithvi for its second stage. Agni I demonstrated that India could develop a maneuvering warhead that incorporated endo-atmospheric evasive maneuvers and terminal guidance in the reentry vehicle. India also developed the carbon-carbon composite materials needed for long-range missile components and reentry vehicle ablative coatings. On the other hand India's Agni II missiles have a range of the 1500 to 2500 kilometers. Unlike the Agni I, the Agni II has a solid-fueled second stage. India has also tested the Agni III IRBM with a range between 3000 and 5500km kilometres which has two stages. With a normal payload of 1000kg it can travel 5000km.^[15]. It is clear that one of the major constraints for this program is the lack of a proven nuclear warhead. India claims to have developed its own thermonuclear design which was tested in the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests and yielded 45 KT. DRDO is also working on a Submarine Launched Version of the Agni-III missile,Agni IIISL which will provide India with a credible sea based second strike capability. Agni IIISL is to be integrated into the Indian nuclear submarine Advanced Technology Vessel capable of a range of 3500 Kilometer. In addition Agni V is due to be tested in 2010 and promises to be an ICBM and a huge leap for Indian technology. It is believed that India already has the means of developing an ICBM as it has sent probes into the Moon and launched satellites for other countries like Israel. It is widely believed that it has not tested such a missile due to international pressure especially from the west.

Surya.

The Surya ICBM is an ICBM program that has been discussed repeatedly in the Indian press but is still to be tested. Surya (meaning The Sun in Sanskrit and Many Indian Languages) is the codename for the first Intercontinental Ballistic Missile that India is reported to be developing. The DRDO is believed to have begun the project in 1994. Officials of the Indian government have repeatedly denied the existence of the project. According to news reports, the Surya-1 is an intercontinental-range, surface-based, solid and liquid propellant ballistic missile. The Surya-1 and -2 will be classified as strategic weapons, extending the Indian nuclear deterrent force to targets around the world. India currently is limited by the range of the Agni-3 missile. The development of a true ICBM would make strikes against almost any strategic target around the world possible and reduce India’s relative weakness. This would develop a credible global deterrent for India. The Surya-1 will have an expected range of 6000 - 10,000 km. It reportedly has a length of 40 m and a launch weight of 80,000 kg (some reports indicate as much as 275,000 kg. As the missile has yet to be developed, the payload and warhead are as yet unknown. It is believed to be a three-stage design, with the first two stages using solid propellants and the third-stage using liquid. The first test flight is expected in 2009, but there may be delays. The Surya-2 is a longer-ranged variant of the Surya-1. It has a reported range of 20,000 km.

Shaurya

The Shaurya missile is a short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile developed by DRDO of India for use by the Indian Army.It has a range of 600 km and is capable of carrying a payload of one-tonne conventional or nuclear warhead.The Shaurya missile provides India with a significant second strike capability. Shaurya Missile is considered a land version of the Sagarika. This missile is stored in a composite canister just like the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. The composite canister makes the missile much easier to store for long periods without maintenance as well as to handle and transport. It also houses the gas generator to eject the missile from the canister before its solid propellant motors take over to hurl it at the intended target. Shaurya missiles can remain hidden or camouflaged in underground silos from enemy surveillance or satellites till they are fired from the special storage-cum-launch canisters.DRDO Defence scientists admit that given Shaurya's limited range at present, either the silos will have to be constructed closer to India's borders or longer-range canisterised missiles will have to be developed.The Shaurya system will require some more tests before it becomes fully operational in two-three years. Moreover, defence scientists say the high-speed, two-stage Shaurya has high manoeuvrability which also makes it less vulnerable to existing anti-missile defence systems.. When Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems AAD and PAD are to be tested again, the Shaurya inculneability to anti-missiel systems will be tested. The DRDO scientists also have said that if Shaurya is successful and manages to avoid anti ballistic missile radars then the missile can even be used to improve the AAD and PAD systems

Sagarika.

Sagarika is a nuclear capable submarine-launched ballistic missile with a range of 750 km. This missile has a length of 8.5 meters, weighs seven tonnes and can carry a pay load of up to 500 kg. The development of this missile started in 1991. The first confirmation about the missile came in 1998 development of the underwater missile launcher know as the Project 78 (P78) was completed in 2001. This was handed over to the Indian Navy for trials. The missile was successfully test fired thrice. The Indian Navy plans to induct the missile into service soon. The missile is likely to arm the nuclear submarine which is expected to be launched in 2008, but delayed. Sagarika will form part of the triad in India's nuclear deterrence and will provide with retaliatory nuclear strike capability.

Sagarika has already been test-fired from a underwater pontoon, but now DRDO is planning a full-fledged test of the missile from a submarine and for this purpose may use the services of a Russian sub-marine.

Cruise Missiles:

BrahMos is the fastest cruise missile in the world with a speed of 2.8 Mach

Unlike the BrahMos, the Nirbhay is to primarily act as a nuclear strike cruise missile

Around 200 Nuclear Capable Klub missile were bought by India

The Popeye missile

Supposedly, India has a small number of Moskit supersonic nuclear capable cruise missile

BrahMos

BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. The acronym BrahMos is perceived as the confluence of the two nations represented by two great rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. It is a joint venture between India's Defense Research and Development Organization and Russia's NPO Mashinostroeyenia who have together formed the BrahMos Corp. BrahMos is the world's first and only supersonic cruise missile capable of being launched from both vertical and inclined positions from naval platforms.Propulsion is based on the Russian Yakhont missile, and guidance has been developed by BrahMos Corp. At speeds of Mach 2.5 to 2.8, it is the world's fastest cruise missile. At about three and a half times faster than the American subsonic Harpoon cruise missile. There are 6 variants of the BrahMos- ship-to-ship, land-to-land, land-to-ship, ship-to-land, air-to-ship and ship-to-air.. DRDO also has launched the underwater version. Which is in use by 6 navy submarines of the Sindhugosh Class. In 2008 a 5.26 Mach version known as the BrahMos Hypersonic was lab tested. . DRDO also confirmed that for the time being India and Russia were only pursuing the hypersonic missile and that the long range BrahMos II will begin development only after the Nirbhay is tested in 2009 so that Russia can participate too without violating the MTCR. BrahMos Hypersonic is the first hypersonic cruise missile in the world and is expected to be ready by 2012-2013. DRDO scientists also said that unlike the BrahMos 1 which is only being used by India. The Russian forces have shown keen interest in the BrahMos Hypersonic.

Nirbhay

Nirbhay is a long range, subsonic cruise missile being developed in India. The missile will have a range of 1000 km and will arm three services, the Indian Army, Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force. The Nirbhay will be able to be launched from multiple platforms on land, sea and air. The first test flight of the missile is expected in the year 2009. Nirbhay will be a terrain hugging, stealth missile of delivering 24 different types of warheads depending on mission requirements and will use inertial navigation system for guidance.. There are plans to arm the IL-76MDs with the aerial version of the missile.

3M-54 Klub

India has acquired around 200 3M-54 Klub for arming Talwar class frigate, Shivalik class frigate, Kolkata class destroyer and Sindhughosh class submarine^[33]. The Russian 3M-54 Klub is a multi-role missile system developed by the Novator Design Bureau(OKB-8) with a range of 250Km-300Km and a average speed of .8 Mach with a maximum of 2.9 Mach. India has both the Klub-N and Klub-S variant to be used for Ships and Submarines respectively. . Both the Klub-N and Klub-S have been tested successfully.India currently has the 3M-54E, 3M-54E1, 91RE1 and 91RE2 variants. In addition the Navy has plans to arm the Tu-142 and Tu-22M with the an air-launched version. Due to Klub's longer range than BrahMos it may also be used in the Mirage 2000 and Su-29 too. The Navy has shown interest in buying more Klubs which would be incorporated on to the S-1000 submarine if bought by India. India is also keen on other Former Soviet cruise missile such as the P-700 Granit and P-500 Bazalt.

Popeye

Supposedly India imported a number of Israel's Rafael made Popeye Missile in late 1999. Popeye II, an air launched cruise missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads with a range of 80 Km can be launched from planes was given to India along with missile defence radars in a deal. At that time the US was vary of this due to its close relations with Pakistan. But due to recent military and strategic dealings between the Israel, India and the US, it is thought that the US has little or no objection now. However even to this day, despite close relations, Israel and India have denied that India has been given the Popeye II. The exact number transferred to India is unknown, but possibly 20 missile to perhaps 50 missiles could have been given with possibly more being built in India. It is still not known which planes are armed with these missiles but it is thought to be the Tu-142 and Sukhoi Su-30MKI, which incorporate some Israeli technology. The Popeye which at that time was India's only air launched cruise missile, could have been used to develop the aerial version of the BrahMos and the latest Nirbhay.

P-70 Ametist

India has Soviet P-70 Ametist submarine-launched cruise missiles. The missile were mostly probably bought in the early 90s and may be used today as canistered launched land based cruise missiles instead of submarine launched cruise missiles. The missiles can carry nuclear warheads and have a range of 50-65Km. Although they are extremely old and incompetent due to their low range and speed, there are still reports that they are kept in reserve and can still be used due to their upgrades in the late 90s. ^.

Moskit

There are reports that India has a small number of operational Moskits. The P-270 Moskit is a Russian supersonic ramjet powered cruise missile capable of being launched from land and ships. India has most probably bought both land and ship variants which have a range of 120km. It was reported that the Chinese version had a greater range and was faster than the one India had acquired. As a result in 2008 India bought around 200 Klub missiles and now it is believed that the Moskit have been kept in reserve but can still be used.

Delivery Mechanisms:

Former leased Charlie Class cruise missile

6 Sindhughosh Class submarines can fire nuclear capable cruise missiles BrahMos and 3M-54 Klub

INS Sindhuvijay

The INS Tabar and other Talwar class frigates are armed with the Nuclear Brahmos and 3M-54 Klub cruise missiles

INS Ranvir is armed with the vertically launched BrahMos

INS Ranvijay is armed with the inclined launched BrahMos

Indian Navy Tu-142 and IL-38SD are long range strategic bombers

IAF Sukhoi Su-30 MKI

The Hal Tejas would become India's only indeginous plane to be armed with nuclear weapons

Nuclear Submarines:

According to some accounts India plans to have as many as 20 nuclear submarines capable of carrying missiles with nuclear warheads. Currently, India is building 3 ballistic nuclear submarines under the Advanced Technology Vessel plan. The first of which is to be unveiled on 26th January, 2009. Once the vessel is completed, it can be equipped with nuclear capable 6-8 Dhanush,Sagarika or Agni SLBM ballistic missiles and upto 12 BrahMos cruise missiles. India currently maintains 6 submarines of the Sindhughosh Class that can launch the nuclear capable Brahmos and 3M-54 Klub cruise missiles.

Former Leasing of Soviet submarines

In 1988 INS Chakra, a Charlie-class submarine was leased by the Indian Navy for three years from the Soviet Union, until 1991. The submarine was leased to India between 1988 and 1991 mainly for India to gain experience in the operations of a nuclear submarine. It was later decommissioned in 1991.

Advanced Technology Vessel

The Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) is a Nuclear Powered Ballistic Missile Submarine being constructed for the Indian Navy at Visakhapatnam, India. The ATV is an SSBN and will be armed with the ballistic missiles. Once it is completed, it can be equipped with 6-8 nuclear capable Dhanush,Sagarika or Agni SLBM ballistic missiles and upto 12 BrahMos cruise missiles. It is also to be fitted with an advanced sonar system. The second and third submarines of the class may incorporate the Nirbhay as well. As of July 2007, the Sagarika missile as well as Dhanush had undergone three successful tests each. The ATV is to be unveiled on January 26, 2009 but trials will start later that year while induction is planned for 2010.

INS Cruise Missile Submarines

The INS Sindhuraj, INS Sindhuvir, INS Sindhuratna, INS Sindhushastra, INS Sindhukesari and INS Sindhuvijay are capable of launching 3M-54 Klub and BrahMos nuclear-capable cruise missiles.. India bought 10 Kilo class (in India known as Sindhughosh Class) submarine of which 6 have been refitted by the Russian Navy so that the they can launch cruise missiles such as nuclear capable BrahMos and 3M-54 Klub's 3M-14E variant. The Submarine version of the BrahMos has been tested from static, underwater test stands in Russia and from the INS Sindhuvijay. As the Sinduvijay is similar to the other refitted submarines the test is considered a success.

Leasing of Russian Akula and Amur Submarines

In 2000, negotiations between India and Russia were conducted into the leasing of two incomplete Akula class. The Akulas were to be delivered to the Indian Navy in 2008 on a lease of at least seven years and up to ten years, in which at the end of the lease, it has an option to buy them. The acquisition was to help the Indian Navy prepare for the induction of the ATV. The cost to India of acquiring two Akula submarines and their support infrastructure along with training of the crews had been estimated at $2 billion.. The Indian version was reportedly armed with the 300 km range 3M-54 Klub nuclear-capable missiles.. Supposedly on 9 November, 2008 one of the two submarines was doing tests, when an accident on board killed 20 sailors but the no damage happened to the submarine. Though this deal fell apart for some time Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev on his official trip to India said that the deal was back on tract and that "The talk is not about selling submarines into India's property, but about their rent by India's navy". , Unlike the earlier deal the modified deal states that India can only rent and not buy the subs. The first submarine will be named INS Chakra.. Russia has also offered the advanced Amur Class Submarine, known as the S1000. According to GlobalSecurity India is already building the S1000 cruise missile submarines in Mazagaon Docks. ^[48] The Amur will be most probably fitted with P-700 Granit or the Klub cruise missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Frigates, Destroyers and Aircraft Carriers:

Other than submarines, India also maintains ships such as destroyers, modified patrol crafts and frigates which can launch nuclear capable ballistic and cruise missiles.

Talwar class frigate and Shivalik class frigate are frigates of the Indian Navy that can fire nuclear capable cruise missiles. INS Tabar and INS Trishul are Talwar class vessel armed with supersonic nuclear BrahMos and 3M-54 Klub cruise missiles while INS Shivalik was the first vessel of the Shivalik class to incorporate the BrahMos. Other vessels of the Shivalik Class and Talwar Class are to be armed with the BrahMos and 3M-54 Klub missile by 2009 and 2010 respectively. All these frigates are also equipped with Barak missiles or other SAMs and harbour helicopters such as the HAL Dhruv. In 2007, the navy promised to arm the Godavari class frigates and Brahmaputra class frigates with the BrahMos too.

Rajput class destroyers are Destroyers of the Indian Navy that can fire nuclear capable missiles. The INS Rajput, INS Ranvir (D54) ^[50] and INS Ranvijay (D55) which are modified versions of Soviet Kashin class destroyers have been fitted with BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile systems. The new class of destroyers namely Kolkata Class are also to be fitted with the BrahMos and there are plans to arm the rest of the vessels of the Rajput Class with BrahMos. While the Delhi class destroyers are to be modified to incorporate the BrahMos too. The first of the Kolkata Class should roll out in 2012 while the Delhi Class and Rajput will be armed with the Brahmos by 2009^[52] In addition the latter Kolkata Class will incorporate the Russian nuclear 3M-54 Klub cruise missile.^[53]

The Navy also has plans to fit the Khukri class corvettes and the Tarantul class corvettes with the BrahMos by 2010. India currently operates 13 Tarantul Corvettes and 4 Khukri Corvettes.

The ship launched Dhanush Ballistic Missile was tested from INS Subhadra of the Sukanya class patrol craft in 2000. INS Subhadra is a patrol vessel which was modified and the missile was launched from the reinforced helicopter deck. The 250Km variant was tested but the tests were considered partially successful.^[54] In 2004, the missile was again tested from the INS Subhadra and was this time successful.^[55] Then the following year in December the missile's 350Km version was tested from the INS Rajput and hit the land based target. ^[56].

INS Vikramaditya Aircraft Carrier (formerly known as Admiral Gorskhov) was fitted with P-500 Bazalt nuclear capable cruise missiles of the range of 550Km. ^[57] The Vikramaditya could still be armed with this after its refit. India is also a potential customer for a Slava class cruiser which also incorporates the P-500 Bazalt

[edit] Nuclear Aircraft

India currently has 17 long range strategic nuclear bombers and 116, 4.5 generation fighter jets capable to lauch nuclear weapons. Nuclear Aircraft are also seen as a less expensive way of dropping nuclear warheads as well as being as effective.

Strategic Bombers

India is only 1 of the 4 countries that still maintains nuclear strategic bombers. Others countries are Russia, China and the United States.^[58] India has 8 Tu-95 Bear in their naval format known as Tupolev Tu-142 which were bought intended to drop nuclear weapons. In Russia the plane is considered one of their top maritime bombers. In 2001, India and Russia signed a 1.9 billion pound deal in which 4 Tupolev Tu-22 M3 long-range aircrafts, which are capable of delivering nuclear bombs, were leased to India. The Tupolev Tu-22M (NATO reporting name "Backfire") is a supersonic, swing-wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Soviet Union. They currently serve the Indian Navy and are used regularly for maritime reconnaissance and strike purposes in the India Ocean. India also has 8 Il-38 maritime patrol bombers. There are reports of efforts towards adding the capability to fire the Indo-Russian Brahmos cruise missile from this aircraft. Mockups have been displayed with air-launched Brahmos attached to underwing pylons on the Indian Navy aircraft. The Il-38 s of the Indian Navy had been sent back to Russia for upgrades and Three aircrafts were delivered back to the Indian Navy .^[59] The new version is designated as Il-38 SD. They incorporate the new Sea Dragon avionic suite. There are also reports that the 1000km range Nirbhay Cruise missile's Aerial version will be fitted onto the 32 IL-76MDs which are the military versions of the IL-76 series.^[60] After developing and inducting the Ilyushin/HAL Tactical Transport Aircraft, India has plans to modify some of the aircrafts so that they can be used as strategic bombers.

Fighter Jet

The Sukhoi Su-30MKI ^[61] , Dassault Mirage 2000 ^[62], Mig-29^[63] and HAL Tejas serve in the Indian Air Force and are also seen as a means to deliver nuclear weapons. In addition India maintains Jaguar and Mig-27M which can be used to drop gravity bombs. ^[64] However, these planes would be considered useless in the 21st century as gravity bombs have little chance of accomplishing a task. On the other hand, the SU 30MKI, capable of carrying nuclear weapons and tailor-made for Indian specifications, integrates Indian systems and avionics.^[65] It also consists of French and Israeli subsystems.^[66] The MKI variant features several improvements over the basic K and MK variants and is classified as a 4.5 generation fighter.^[67]^[68] Due to similar features and components, the MKI variant is often considered to be a customized Indian variant of the Sukhoi Su-35. The Mirage 2000Hs were heavily customised, during the Kargil War and is the only other version, other than the French 2000N to be able to be armed with nuclear weapons. However, the air force doesn't really see the Mirage as a nuclear strike aircraft. Though Mig-29 like the the HAL Tejas after many test flights hasn't been tested to use nuclear weapons They have the capacity to be armed with them. The naval format of Tejas too is supposed to be armed with nuclear weapons. When Tejas is inducted into the Indian Air Force and the air arm of the Indian Navy there are plans to have as many 250 of them. In addition the INS Vikramaditya along with the Mig-29K would make it easier for India's naval jets to attack targets. Both the Tejas and SU-30MKI can travel an access of 3000km without refueling, this allows India to attack targets far away in an effective manner only using planes rather than delivery systems such as the Agni. The Hal Tejas would become India's only indeginous plane to be armed with nuclear weapons, thus making India less dependent on Russia. In years to come, MCA along with other new additions like the PAK-FA or the FGFA would incorporate the air force versions of BhrahMos and Nirbhay cruise missiles.

[edit] Foreign assistance

With the exception of sourcing plutonium from the CIRRUS class reactor for the 1974 nuclear weapons test, India's nuclear program has been almost entirely developed without foreign assistance, due mainly to a total nuclear and missile technology embargo and severe sanctions regime imposed on India after it conducted the 1974 nuclear explosion at Pokhran. A fact recognized by the United States during state department briefings on the current United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act to the US Congress. According US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, "[India] has a 30-year record of responsible behavior on nonproliferation matters."^[69] Non-proliferation applies to both the export and import of nuclear weapons technology, clearly a reference to the independent and conservative nature of the Indian Nuclear Weapons program.

[edit] Chemical Weapons

India has an advanced commercial chemical industry, and produces the bulk of its own chemicals for domestic consumption. It is also widely acknowledged that India has an extensive civilian chemical and pharmaceutical industry and annually exports considerable quantities of chemicals to countries such as the United Kingdom, United States, and Taiwan.

In 1992 India signed the Chemical Weapons Convention(CWC), stating that it did not have chemical weapons and the capacity or capability to manufacture chemical weapons. By doing this India became one of the original signatories of the Chemical Weapons Convention [CWC] in 1993, and ratified it on 2 September 1996. According to India's ex-Army Chief General Sunderji, a country having the capability of making nuclear weapons does not need to have chemical weapons, since the dread of chemical weapons could be created only in those countries that do not have nuclear weapons. Others suggested that the fact that India has found chemical weapons dispensable highlighted its confidence in the conventional weapons system at its command. According to one published report, India's stockpile of chemical weapons consists of mustard gas shells left by the British of World War II vintage. These shells, fired from a 25 pounder gun, are said to be in storage and not under the operational control of the Indian Army. India is also reported to have manufacturing facilities for production of agents in small quantities. However, India does have a defensive Chemical Weapons program, overseen by the Ministry of Defense. Various facilities and laboratories across the country are involved in research that could be applicable to a covert CW program.

On 25 June 1997, the Indian government stated that "India will disclose to Pakistan stocks of its chemical weapons". The decision was taken to make a unilateral disclosure on the instruction of Prime Minister I.K. Gujral. However, Chinese defense researchers have claimed that India possesses 1,000 tons of chemical warfare agents, which are located at five chemical weapons production and storage facilities. It is indicated that these agents include mainly mustard and there are several possible delivery munitions. But CWC has said that India is one of the most CWC obiding countries in the world as India is currently in the final stages of destroying these weapons. The most recent public update on progress came on 28 January 2008 when the Indian government announced that it had succeeded in destroying 93 percent of its Category 1 stockpile. On the basis of current schedules India will be the third nation to completely and verifiably destroy all of its chemical weapons and associated facilities. Nevertheless, the sophistication of India's domestic chemical industry would allow it to rapidly reconstitute a significant chemical weapons capability, if it chose to do so.

Biological Warfare:

India has a well-developed biotechnology infrastructure that includes numerous pharmaceutical production facilities bio-containment laboratories (including BSL-3 and BSL-4) for working with lethal pathogens. It also has highly qualified scientists with expertise in infectious diseases. Some of India’s facilities are being used to support research and development for BW defense purposes. India has ratified the BWC and pledges to abide by its obligations. There is no clear evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, that directly points toward an offensive BW program. New Delhi does possess the scientific capability and infrastructure to launch an offensive BW program, but has not chosen to do so. In terms of delivery, India also possesses the capability to produce aerosols and has numerous potential delivery systems ranging from crop dusters to sophisticated ballistic missiles.

In 2001, After Indian Postal Services received 17 “suspicious” letters believed to contain Bacillus anthracis spores.A Bio-Safety Level 2 (BSL-2) Laboratory was established to provide guidance in preparing the Indian government for a biological attack. B. anthracis is one of many pathogens studied at the institute, which also examines pathogens causing tuberculosis, typhoid, hepatitis B, rabies, yellow fever, Lassa fever, Ebola, and plague Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) at Gwalior is the primary establishment for studies in toxicology and biochemical pharmacology and development of antibodies against several bacterial and viral agents. Work is in progress to prepare responses to threats like Anthrax, Brucellosis, cholera and plague, viral threats like smallpox and viral haemorrhage fever and biotoxic threats like botulism. Most of the information is classified. Researchers have developed chemical/biological protective gear, including masks, suits, detectors and suitable drugs. India has a 'no first use' policy.

Akash missile

2008-12-23T20:40:00.000-08:00

Akash missile:

Akash
An Akash missile being test fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, Orissa. The launch platform is a BMP-2 vehicle
Type	Surface to Air Missile
Place of origin	India
Service history
Used by	Indian air force
Production history
Manufacturer	Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL)
Produced	1990
Specifications
Weight	720 kg
Length	5.78 m
Diameter	350 mm

Warhead	55 kg Fragmentation warhead
Detonation mechanism	Radio proximity fuze

Engine	Booster + Integral Ram Rocket (IRR) solid propulsion
Propellant	Solid-fuel rocket
Operational range	25 to 30 km
Flight ceiling	15 km
Speed	Mach 2.8 to 3.5
Guidance system	Command Guidance
Launch platform	BMP-1, T-72, Tata 4923 truck

Akash (Sanskrit: आकाश, Ākāś "Sky") is India's medium range surface-to-air missile defense system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Bharat Electronics Ltd(BEL) as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program missile can target aircraft up to 25 km away, at altitudes up to 15,000 m. Akash can be fired from both tracked and wheeled platforms.

Along with India, a limited number of other countries including the US, Russia, Japan, Israel, and some EU countries have developed operational multitarget-handling surface-to-air missile systems. With the successful user trials of Akash, India has validated the technology and operational efficacy of this missile system. This system is claimed to be more accurate than the MIM-104 Patriot due to its use of solid fuel based on statements from a Dr.Prahlada of the Indian Defense Research & Development Organization.

In May 2008 Indian scientists announced they had developed a patented path-breaking technology will increase the range of missiles and satellite launch vehicles by at least 40%. ^[5]The enhanced range is made possible by adding a special-purpose coating of chromium based material to the blunt nose cone of missiles and launch vehicles. The material acts as a reactive-ablative coating that forms a thin low density gaseous layer over the tip of the rocket or missiles as they approach hypersonic speeds; this super-heated gas layer reduces drag by 47%, thereby allowing range enhancements at least 40%.

Development and history:

The first test flight of Akash missile was conducted in 1990, with development flights up to March 1997.

Two Akash missiles intercepted two fast moving targets in simultaneous engagement mode in 2005. 3-D Central Acquisition Radar (3D-CAR) group mode performance is also fully established.^[7]^[8] The Akash Project has been the most expensive and missile project ever undertaken by the Union government of India in the 20th century. Total development costs for the missile and associated radars and systems was almost $120 million to the taxpayers.

Description:

Missile:

Akash is a surface-to-air missile with an intercept range of 30 km. It has a launch weight of 720 kg, a diameter of 35 cm and a length of 5.78 metres. Akash flies at supersonic speed, reaching around Mach 2.5. It can reach an altitude of 18 km. An on-board guidance system coupled with actuator system makes the missile maneuverable up to 15g loads and a tail chase capability for end game engagement. A digital proximity fuse is coupled with a 55kg pre-fragmented warhead, while the safety arming and detonation mechanism enables a controlled detonation sequence. A self-destruct device is also integrated. It is propelled by Integrated Ramjet Rocket Engine. The use of ramjet propulsion system that enables sustained speeds without deceleration throughout its flight.The Missile as command guidance in its entire flight.

The design of the missile is somewhat similar to that of SA-6 with four long tube ramjet inlet ducts mounted mid-body between wings. For pitch/yaw control four clipped triangular moving wings are mounted on mid-body. For roll control four inline clipped delta fins with ailerons are mounted before the tail. However, the internal schema shows a different layout with an onboard digitial computer, no Semi-active seeker, different propellant, different actuators and command guidance datalinks. The Akash carries an onboard radio-proximity fuse.

System:

Each Akash battery consists of 4 self propelled Launchers (3 Akash SAMs each), a Battery Level Radar - the Rajendra, and a Command post (Battery Control Center). 2 batteries are deployed as a Squadron (Air Force), while up to 4 form an Akash Group (Army configuration). In both configurations, an extra Group Control Center (GCC) is added, which acts as the Command and Control HQ of the Squadron or Group. Based on a single mobile platform, GCC establishes links with Battery Control Centers and conducts air defense operations in coordination with air defense set up in a zone of operations.

For early warning, the GCC relies on the Central Acquisition Radar. However, individual batteries can also be deployed with the cheaper, 2-D BSR (Battery Surveillance Radar) with a range of over 100 km.

Each Akash battery can engage up to 4 targets. Each battery has 4 launchers with 3 missiles each, with each Rajendra able to guide 4 missiles in total, with a maximum of 2 missiles per target. Up to a maximum of 4 targets can be engaged by a typical battery with a single Rajendra if one missile is allotted per target.

Communications between the various vehicles are a combination of wireless and wired links. The entire system is designed to be set up quickly and to be highly mobile, for high survivability.

The Akash system can be deployed by rail, road or air.

Radars:

The missile is guided by a phased array fire control radar called 'Rajendra' which is termed as Battery Level Radar (BLR) with a tracking range of about 60 km.. It can track 64 targets in range, azimuth and height and guide eight missiles simultaneously towards 4 targets. The Rajendra derivative on a BMP-2 chassis and to be used by the Indian Air Force is known as the Battery Level Radar -II whereas that for the Army, is based on a T-72 chassis and is known as the Battery Level Radar-III.

A single Akash missile has an 88% Probability of kill. Two missiles can be fired, five seconds apart, to raise the Probability of Kill to 99%.

Long range target acquisition is performed by the 3D Central Acquisition Radar (3D CAR), which is a long range surveillance radar that can track 150 targets in Track while Scan mode at a range of 180 km.

Platforms:

Akash.

The Army's radar and launchers are based on the T-72 chassis to accompany the Army's fast moving armoured formations. The Air Force versions use a combination of tracked and wheeled vehicle. The Air Force Akash launcher consists of a detachable trailer which is towed by an Ashok Leyland truck, and which can be positioned autonomously. Both the Army and Air Force launchers have three ready-to-fire Akash missiles each. The launchers can slew in both elevation and azimuth.

Specification:

Akash uses solid fuel. No country, except Russia, has mastered solid fuel technology in tactical missiles. Not even the US. That way, DRDO scientists consider Akash superior to the US Patriot. Unlike Patriot, Akash does not coast while it approaches the target, and thus has a higher kill probability. Liquid-fuelled missiles like Patriot would have burnt up all the fuel before they reach the target. In solid-fuel systems, the fuel is rationed so that the velocity is maintained throughout the flight. "Because this missile has an integrated ram-rocket, manoeuvrability is highest. The engine is 'on' throughout the flight. The thrust is on till the missile intercepts the target," explained Prahlada.

Status:

DRDO has completed the development of the Akash SAM System. The Indian Air force was satisfied with the performance of Akash after extensive flight trials and has decided to induct the weapon system. Orders for two squadrons have been placed. This is the first order of an indigenous tactical missile by the Indian Armed Forces.

More orders are expected, as the IAF phases out its Pechoras and as the Indo-Israeli JV to develop a MRSAM (Medium Range SAM) for the IAF has been put on hold, while a similar program for the Indian Navy proceeds unimpeded.

In December 2007, the Indian Air Force completed user trials for this missile. The trials, which were spread over ten days were declared successful after the missile hit the target on five occasions. Multiple targets handling capability of Akash weapon system was demonstrated by live firing in C4I environment. Before the ten day trial at chandipur, ECCM Evaluation tests were carried out at Gwalior Air force base and mobility trials were carried out in Pokhran. The IAF had evolved the user Trial Directive to verify the Akash's consistency. The following trials were conducted: Against low flying near range target, long range high altitude target, crossing and approaching target and ripple firing of two missiles from the same launcher against a low altitude receding target. Following this, Indian Air Force announced that it would initiate induction of 2 squadrons of Akash. Some reports state that a Squadron has 18 batteries. This is incorrect, as shown by IAF Orbats and Pictures of the Akash squadron configuration. A squadron has a standard of 2 batterys with each battery capable of engaging 4 targets simultaneously, and hence the IAF order adds up to some 100 missiles (with reloads). More orders are expected as the Air Force moves to replace its retiring SA-3 Pechora systems. It is reported that Malaysia has shown interest in purchasing Akash missile . However, exports to Malaysia of this state of the art system are not likely due to the risk of this missile systems technology being leaked to Pakistan as a result of Malaysia's Badawi regime's pan-Islamist leanings.

Each missile is expected to have starting costs below $500,000 (US currency), i.e. under Rs.20 million, which is less than half the cost of similar Western missiles which usually cost between USD 1.2-1.5 million (Indian currency Rs. 50-60 million) each .. It is expected that this cost will further decrease due to the economies of scaled achieved as production ramps up.

Prithvi missile

2008-12-23T20:28:00.000-08:00

Prithvi missile:

Prithvi
Type	Short Range Ballistic Missile
Place of origin	India
Service history
In service	1994 (Prithvi I)
Used by	Indian Army Indian Air Force Indian Navy
Production history
Manufacturer	Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL)
Produced	February 25, 1988 (Prithvi I) January 27, 1996 (Prithvi II) April 11, 2000 (Dhanush) January 23, 2004 (Prithvi III)
Specifications
Weight	4400 kg (Prithvi I) 4600 kg (Prithvi II) 5600 kg (Prithvi III)
Length	9 m (Prithvi I) 8.56 m (Prithvi II, Prithvi III)
Diameter	110 cm (Prithvi I, Prithvi II) 100cm (Prithvi III)

Engine	Single Stage liquid fuel dual motor(Prithvi I, Prithvi II, Single Stage Solid Motor (Prithvi III)
Operational range	150 km (Prithvi I) 250 km (Prithvi II) 350 - 600 km (Prithvi III)
Guidance system	strap-down inertial guidance
Launch platform	8 x 8 Tatra Transporter Erector Launcher

Prithvi (Sanskrit: पृथ्वी, pṛthvī "Earth") is a tactical surface-to-surface, short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) developed by DRDO of India under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program.

In september 2008 Indian scientists developed a path-breaking technology that has the potential to increase the range of missiles and satellite launch vehicles by at least 40%.The enhanced range is made possible by adding a special-purpose coating of chromium metal to the blunt nose cone of missiles and launch vehicles. This would add-up on the stated range.

Development and History:

The Government of India launched the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program in 1983 for achieving self sufficiency in the development and production of wide range of Ballistic Missiles, Surface to Air Missiles etc.

Prithvi was the first missile to be developed under the Program. DRDO earlier attempted to reverse engineer SA-2 Surface-to-air Missile under Project Devil. The Prithvi is said to have its propulsion technology derived from the SA-2 surface-to-air missile. The dual liquid engine of Prithvi I might have been derived from scaling down of 30 ton Valiant Engine and scaling up of V-755 engine used by SA-2 surface-to-air missile.

Variants make use of either liquid or both liquid and solid fuels. Developed as a battlefield missile, it could carry a nuclear warhead in its role as a tactical nuclear weapon.

Variants:

Prithvi I (SS-150) - Army Version (150 km range with a payload of 1,000kg)
Prithvi II (SS-250) - Air Force Version (250 km range with a payload of 500kg)
Prithvi III (SS-350) - Naval Version (350 km range with a payload of 500kg)
Dhanush- Dhanush is reportedly a naval version of Prithvi which can be launched from Ships.. Some sources claim that Dhanush is a System consisting of stabilization platform and missiles, which has the capability to launch both Prithvi II and Prithvi III from Ships while others report that Dhanush is a variant of Prithvi-II Ballistic Missile.

Over the years these specifications underwent a number of changes. While the codename Prithvi stands for any missile inducted by India into its armed forces in this category, the later developmental versions are codenamed as Prithvi II and Prithvi III.

Description:

Prithvi I:

Prithvi I class was a single stage liquid-fuelled surface-to-surface missile having a maximum warhead mounting capability of 1000 kg, with a range of 150 km. It has an accuracy of 10 - 50 metres and can be launched from Transporter erector launchers. This class of Prithvi missile was inducted into the Indian Army in 1994.

[edit] Prithvi II

Prithvi II class is also a single stage liquid-fuelled missile having a maximum warhead mounting capability of 1000kg, but with an extended range of 250 kilometres. It was developed with the Indian Air Force being the primary user. It was first test-fired on January 27, 1996 and the development stages were completed in 2004. The Prithvi II class of missiles are in the process of induction by the Indian Airforce. In a recent test, the Missile was launched with an extended range of 350 kilometres and improved Aided Inertial Navigation which achieved single digit accuracy reaching close to zero Circular Error Probability (CEP). The missile has the features to deceive Anti Ballistic Missiles.

Prithvi III:

Prithvi III class (codenamed Sagarika meaning Oceanic) a two-stage surface-to-surface missile in the developmental stages. The first stage is solid fuelled with a 16 metric ton force (157 kN) thrust motor. The second stage is liquid fuelled. The missile can carry a 1000 kg warhead to a distance of 350 km and a 500 kg warhead to a distance of 600 kilometres and a 250 kilogram warhead up to a distance of 750 kilometres. The design is developed while keeping the navy in mind.

Sagarika will be a nuclear-capable, ballistic missile, capable of being mounted in ships or submarines. Considering the upward capability developments, Prithvi class of missiles could be reclassified from short-range ballistic missile to a medium range ballistic missile. The current codename of the operational variant Dhanush could pave way for the new codename Sagarika as Sagarika becomes operational. Dhanush was successfully tested on March 30, 2007. Sagarika will be inducted into the Advanced Technology Vessel being developed for Indian Navy.

There were a number of shortcoming in the initial version of Prithvi missiles namely, High circular error probability (CEP) of around 500 meters and volatility of the liquid-fuelled propulsion system requiring fuelling only just before launching. These shortcomings are being overcome in the latest developmental versions by incorporating of global positioning system (GPS) into the missiles to reduce the CEP to as low as 10 to 15 meters and use of solid fuel in the propulsion system.

BRAHMOS

2008-12-23T19:57:00.000-08:00

BrahMos

BrahMos
BrahMos and the launch canister on display at the International Maritime Defence Show, IMDS-2007, St. Petersburg, Russia
Type	Cruise missile
Place of origin	Russia / India
Service history
In service	November 2006
Production history
Manufacturer	Joint venture, Federal State Unitary Enterprise NPO Mashinostroeyenia (Russia) and Defense Research and Development Organization (BrahMos Corp, India)
Unit cost	US$ 2.73 million^{[citation needed]}
Specifications
Weight	3000 kg 2500 kg (air-launched)
Length	8.4 m
Diameter	0.6 m

Warhead	300 kg Conventional semi-armour-piercing

Engine	Two-stage integrated Rocket/Ramjet
Operational range	290 km
Speed	Mach 2.8-3.0^[1]
Launch platform	Ship, submarine, aircraft and land-based mobile launchers.

BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. It is a joint venture between India's Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroeyenia who have together formed the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.

The acronym BrahMos is perceived as the confluence of the two nations represented by two great rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. At speeds of Mach 2.5 to 2.8, it is the world's fastest cruise missile and is about three and a half times faster than the U.S.A's subsonic Harpoon cruise missile. A hypersonic version of the missile is also presently under development (Lab Tested with 5.26 Mach Speed).^[2]

Though India had wanted the BrahMos to be based on a mid range cruise missile, namely P-700 Granit, instead Russia opted for the shorter range sister of the missile, P-800 Oniks, in order to comply with MTCR restrictions, to which Russia is a signatory. Its propulsion is based on the Russian Yakhont missile, and guidance has been developed by BrahMos Corp.

Development and Manufacture:

The BrahMos has been developed as a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) of India and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM) of Russia under BrahMos Aerospace. The missile is named after two rivers, the Brahmaputra and the Moskva.

Since late 2004, the missile has undergone several tests from variety of platforms including a land based test from Pokhran desert, in which the S maneuver at Mach 2.8 was demonstrated for the Indian Army and a launch in which the land attack capability from sea was demonstrated.

Description:

BrahMos claims to have the capability of attacking surface targets as low as 10 meters in altitude. It can gain a speed of Mach 2.8, and has a maximum range of 290 km.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. It has a two-stage propulsion system, with a solid-propellant rocket for initial acceleration and a liquid-fueled ramjet responsible for sustained supersonic cruise. Air-breathing ramjet propulsion is much more fuel-efficient than rocket propulsion, giving the BrahMos a longer range than a pure rocket-powered missile would achieve.

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 almost 32 times the initial kinetic energy of a Tomahawk missile (although it pays for this by having only 3/5 the payload and a fraction of the range despite weighing twice as much, suggesting a different tactical paradigm to achieve the objective).

Although BrahMos is primarily an anti-ship missile, it can also engage land based targets. It can be launched either in a vertical or inclined position and is capable of covering targets over a 360 degree horizon. The BrahMos missile has an identical configuration for land, sea, and sub-sea platforms. The air-launched version has a smaller booster and additional tail fins for added stability during launch. The BrahMos is currently being configured for aerial deployment with the Su-30MKI as its carrier.

Variants:

Ship launched, Anti-Ship variant (operational)
Land launched, Land attack variant (operational)
Land launched, Anti-Ship variant (operational)
Ship launched, Land attack variant (operational)
Air launched, Anti-Ship variant
Air launched, Land attack variant
Submarine launched, Anti-Ship variant
Submarine launched, Land attack variant

Operators

12th test of the army version of BrahMos at a test range in Rajasthan

India and Russia intend to make 2,000 BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles over the next ten years through their joint venture company, and nearly 50 percent of them are expected to be exported to friendly countries.

Indian Navy:

The missile is in service with the Indian Navy. The missile is fitted on the Rajput class of destroyers. The submarine launched version of the missile is ready for testing. The missile will be either tested on a Kilo class submarine of the Indian Navy or will be tested in Russia. The land attack version of the missile was fired from Destroyer INS Rajput and the missile hit and destroyed the right target among a group of targets. The vertical launch of Brahmos was conducted on December 18, 2008 from INS Ranvir (D54).

Indian Army:

The missile was successfully tested with new capabilities for the Indian Army in the deserts of Rajasthan. It was inducted into the army on June 21.

Indian Air Force:

The air launched version for the Indian Air Force is ready for testing. expert committee from the DRDO and the Indian Air Force (IAF) has ruled out any structural modification to the advanced Su-30MKI if it is to be fitted with the supersonic BrahMos.

On October 22 2008 A. Sivathanu Pillai, chief executive officer and managing director, Brahmos Airspace announced that the Indian Air Force would get its own version of Brahmos by 2012. Trials and tests will be carried out by 2011 and it is expected to be inducted into the IAF by 2012

Russian Navy:

According to sources the BrahMos could be fitted to the updated Gorshkov class of frigates which will be entering the Russian navy soon. Although it is stated that Russian navy had not originally planned on using the BrahMos system it may still consider doing so under pressure from India. The defense ministry reported that due to the size and hull specifications of the BrahMos, few if any of its new ships will be able to accommodate it.

BrahMos at the Indian Republic Day Parade

BrahMos II

BrahMos II is a hypersonic cruise missile that has been lab tested with a speed of 5.26 Mach making it the fastest cruise missile in the world. BrahMos II is expected to be ready by 2012-13.

Sukhoi Su-30MKI

2008-12-22T22:09:00.000-08:00

Su-30MKI

A Su-30MKI of the Indian Air Force taking part in the Red Flag exercise
Role	Air Superiority Fighter, Multirole Fighter, Strike Fighter
Manufacturer	Sukhoi & Hindustan Aeronautics
First flight	1 July 1997
Introduced	27 September 2002
Status	Active service
Primary user	Indian Air Force
Number built	Active: 116
Unit cost	US$47 million
Developed from	Sukhoi Su-30
Variants	Sukhoi Su-35

The Sukhoi Su-30 MKI^[1] (NATO reporting name Flanker-H) is a variant of the Sukhoi Su-30, jointly-developed by Russia's Sukhoi Corporation and India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). It is an air superiority fighter which can also act as a multirole, strike fighter jet.

The development of the variant started after India signed a deal with Russia in 2000 to manufacture 140 Su-30 fighter jets. The first Russian-made Su-30MKI variant was integrated into the IAF in 2002, while the first indigenous Su-30MKI entered service with the IAF in 2004. In 2007, the IAF ordered 40 additional MKIs.

Capable of carrying nuclear weapons and tailor-made for Indian specifications, the fighter jet integrates Indian systems and avionics. It also consists of French and Israeli subsystems.The MKI variant features several improvements over the basic K and MK variants and is classified as a 4.5 generation fighter Due to similar features and components, the MKI variant is often considered to be a customized Indian variant of the Sukhoi Su-35.

Development:

The Su-30MKI version is a development of the Su-27 series. Though a variant of Su-30, the Su-30 MKI is more advanced than the basic Su-30 or the Chinese Su-30 MKK aircraft. Its avionics, aerodynamic features and components are similar to the Su-35 This variant has significant upgrades on it from the basic Su-30MK version. The aircraft was jointly designed by Russia's Sukhoi and India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The aircraft featured many modifications over the Su-27 and the Su-30MK variant. These included canard fore-planes, 2-dimensional thrust vectoring control (TVC), Russian-made N011-M passive phased array radar (PESA) and a range of avionics complex sourced from Russia, France, Israel and India which includes display, navigation, targeting and electronic warfare systems. It is also speculated that the passive phased array Radar Irbis-E will be added to the fighter jet by 2010, when the first totally-built Su-30MKI will roll out from HAL Nasik.

Procurement:

In 1996, after 2 years of evaluation and negotiations, India decided to purchase Su-30 aircraft. India signed a US$1.462 billion deal with the Sukhoi Corporation on 30 November 1996 for the delivery of 40 Su-30 aircraft. These aircraft were to be delivered in three batches. The first batch were 10 Su-30K or Su-30MK, the basic version of Su-30. The second batch were to be 8 Su-30MK with French and Israeli avionics. The third batch were to be 10 Su-30MKs featuring canard foreplanes. The fourth and final batch of 12 Su-30MKI aircraft were to have the AL-31FP turbofans. In 2000, another agreement was signed allowing the license production of 140 Su-30MKIs in India. The deal combined license production with full technology transfer and hence was called a 'Deep License'. The MKI production was planned to be done in four phases: Phase I, II, III and IV respectively.

The original plan called for the MKI production to be complete by 2018. While Phase I would see complete aircraft shipped to India, and reassembled, Phase II would see MKI's manufactured from SKD (Semi Knocked Down) kits, whereas Phase III would have MKI's made from CKD (Completely Knocked Down) assemblies as well as Indian made aggregates. Phase IV would see MKI's made from local raw materials, with locally manufactured systems (upwards of 90%). India signed a deal with Russia on February 2007 for purchase of another 40 Su-30MKI in light of the declining fleet levels of the Indian Air Force. These will be Mk3 standard aircraft. India will eventually acquire a total of 230 Su-30MKI with all these supplied by 2014.

Design:

Airframe

Extensive use of composite materials are made while constructing the airframe of the MKI variant.

The Su-30MKI is a highly integrated twin-finned aircraft. The airframe is constructed of titanium and high-strength aluminium alloys. The engine nacelles are fitted with trouser fairings to provide a continuous streamlined profile between the nacelles and the tail beams. The fins and horizontal tail consoles are attached to tail beams. The central beam section between the engine nacelles consists of the equipment compartment, fuel tank and the brake parachute container. The fuselage head is of semi-monocoque construction and includes the cockpit, radar compartments and the avionics bay.

Cockpit and ergonomics:

Mk.3, a further development over the existing MKI variant, will integrate avionic systems being developed for the Indo-Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft program.

Flight control:

The aircraft has a fly by wire (FBW) with quadruple redundancy. Depending on the flight conditions, signals from the control stick position transmitter or the FCS will be coupled to the remote control amplifiers. These signals are combined with feedback signals fed by acceleration sensors and rate gyros. The resultant control signals are coupled to the high-speed electro-hydraulic actuators of the elevators, rudders and the canard. The output signals are compared and, if the difference is significant, the faulty channel is disconnected. FBW is based on a stall warning and barrier mechanism which prevents development of aircraft stalls through a dramatic increase in the control stick pressure. This allows a pilot to effectively control the aircraft without running the risk of reaching the limit values of angle of attack and acceleration. Although the maximum angle of attack is limited by the canards the FBW acts as an additional safety mechanism.

General features

The displays include a highly customized version of the Elbit Su 967 head-up display consisting of bi-cubic phase conjugated holographic displays and seven liquid crystal multifunction displays, six 127 mm x 127 mm and one 152 mm x 152 mm. The HUD was widely misreported to be the VEH 3000 from Thales. Variants of the same HUD have also been chosen for the IAF's MiG-27 and SEPECAT Jaguar upgrades, on grounds of standardization. Flight information is displayed on four LCD displays which include one for piloting and navigation, a tactical situation indicator, and two for display systems information including operating modes and overall operation status. The rear cockpit is fitted with a larger monochromatic screen display for the air-to-surface missile guidance. The Su-30MKI on-board health and usage monitoring system (HUMS) monitors almost every aircraft system and sub-system including the avionics sub-systems. It can also act as an engineering data recorder

Navigation

The aircraft is fitted with a satellite navigation system (A-737 GPS compatible), which permits it to make flights in all weather, day and night. The navigation complex comprises high accuracy SAGEM integrated global positioning system and ring laser gyroscope inertial navigation system.

Pilot ejection

The crew are provided zero-zero KD-36DM ejection seats. The rear seat is raised for better visibility. The cockpit is provided with containers to store food and water reserves, a waste disposal system and extra oxygen bottles. The KD-36DM ejection seat is inclined at 30º, to help the pilot resist aircraft accelerations in air combat.

Aerodynamics

Two Sukhoi-30MKIs during a maneuver

Su-30MKI aerodynamic configuration is an unstable longitudinal triplane. The canard increases the aircraft lifting ability and deflects automatically to allow high angle-of-attack (AoA) flights. The integral aerodynamic configuration combined with thrust vectoring results in extremely capable maneuverability, taking off and landing characteristics. This high agility allows rapid deployment of weapons in any direction as desired by the crew. The canard notably assists in controlling the aircraft at large angles-of-attack and bringing it to a level flight condition. The wing will have high-lift devices featured as deflecting leading edges, and flaperons acting as flaps and ailerons.

Radar:

The forward facing NIIP N011M Bars (Panther) is a powerful integrated passive electronically scanned array radar. The N011M is a digital multi-mode dual frequency band radar. The N011M can function in air-to-air and air-to-land/sea mode simultaneously while being tied into a high-precision laser-inertial or GPS navigation system. It is equipped with a modern digital weapons control system as well as anti-jamming features. N011M has a 350 km search range and a maximum 200 km tracking range, and 60 km in the rear hemisphere. The radar can track 15 air targets and engage the 4 most dangerous simultaneously. These targets can even include cruise missiles and motionless helicopters. The Su-30MKI can function as a mini-AWACS as a director or command post for other aircraft. The target co-ordinates can be transferred automatically to at least 4 other aircraft. The radar can detect ground targets such as tanks at 40–50 km.

The Su-30MKI can be integrated with the BrahMos cruise missiles, it can carry up to 3 of these cruise missiles for the land attack and anti shipping roles. This ability, being a unique feature, usually assigned to dedicated bombers, further enhances its multi-role capabilities and is the only fighter in the world at present, able to carry the BrahMos.

Avionics

Laser-optical locator system:

OLS-30 laser-optical locator system to include a day and night FLIR capability and is used in conjunction with the helmet mounted sighting system. The OLS-30 is a combined IRST/LR device using a cooled, broader waveband, sensor. Detection range is up to 90 Km, whilst the laser ranger is effective to 3.5 Km. Targets are displayed on the same LCD display as the radar.

LITENING targeting pod:

Israeli LITENING targeting pod is used to target the laser guided munitions. Litening incorporates in a single pod all the targeting features required by a modern strike fighter. The original Litening pod includes a long range FLIR, a TV camera, a flash-lamp powered laser designator, laser spot tracker for tracking target designated by other aircraft or from the ground, and an electro-optical point and inertial tracker, which enabled continuous engagement of the target even when the target is partly obscured by clouds or countermeasures. The pod integrates the necessary laser rangefinder and designator, required for the delivery of Laser Guided Bombs, cluster and general purpose bombs.

Electronic countermeasures:

Sukhoi Su-30MKI has electronic counter-measure systems. The RWR system is an indigenously developed system by DRDO, called Tarang, (Wave in Sanskrit). It has direction finding capability and is known to have a programmable threat library. The RWR is derived from work done on an earlier system for India's MiG-23BNs known as the Tranquil, which is now superseded by the more advanced Tarang series. Elta EL/M-8222 a self-protection jammer developed by Israel Aircraft Industries is the MKI's standard EW pod, which the Israeli Air Force uses on its F-15s. The ELTA El/M-8222 Self Protection Pod is a power-managed jammer, air-cooled system with an ESM receiver integrated into the pod. The pod contains an antenna on the forward and aft ends, which receive the hostile RF signal and after processing deliver the appropriate response.

Propulsion:

The tail section of the Su-30MKI showing the TVC nozzles and horizontal stabilizers.

The Su-30MKI is powered by the two Al-31FP turbofans. Each Al-31FP is rated at 12,500 kgf (27,550 lbf) of full afterburning thrust:

Al-31FP builds on the Al-37FU with the capability to vector in 2 planes. The TVC nozzles of the MKI are mounted 32 degrees outward to longitudinal engine axis (i.e. in the horizontal plane) and can be deflected ±15 degrees in the vertical plane. This produces a cork-screw effect and thus enhancing the turning capability of the aircraft.
Two AL-31FP by-pass thrust-vectoring turbojet reheated engines (25,000 kgf full afterburning thrust) ensure a 2M horizontal flight speed (a 1350 km/h ground-level speed) and a rate of climb of 230 m/s. The mean time between overhaul for the AL-31FP is given at 1,000 hours with a full-life span of 3,000 hours. The titanium nozzle has a mean time between overhaul of 500 hours.
There is no strain-gauge engine control stick to change the engine thrust in the cockpit, rather just a conventional engine throttle control lever. The pilot controls the aircraft with help of a standard control stick. On the pilot's right there is a switch which is turned on for performing difficult maneuvers. After the switch-over, the computer determines the level of use of aerodynamic surfaces and swiveling nozzles and their required deflection angles.

Fuel system:

The Su-30MKI has a range of 5,000 km with internal fuel which ensures a 4.5 hour combat mission. Also, it has an in-flight refueling (IFR) probe that retracts beside the cockpit during normal operation. The air refueling system increases the flight duration up to 10 hours with a range of 8,000 km at a cruise height of 11 to 13 km. Su-30 MKIs can also use the Cobham 754 buddy refueling pods.

Operational history:

The Sukhoi Su-30MKI is the top fighter jet currently in-service with the Indian Air Force as of 2008. The MKIs are often fielded by the IAF in bilateral and multilateral air exercises. India exercised its Su-30MKIs against the Royal Air Force's Tornado ADVs in October 2006. was the first large-scale aerial exercise with any foreign air force during which the IAF used its Su-30MKIs extensively. This exercise was also the first in 43 years with the RAF. During the exercise, RAF's Air Chief Marshall, Glenn Torpy, was given permission by the IAF to fly the MKI. RAF's Air-Vice Marshall, Christopher Harper, praised the MKI's dogfight ability, calling it "absolutely masterful".

In July 2007, the Indian Air Force fielded the MKI during the Indra-Dhanush exercise with Royal Air Force's Eurofighter Typhoon. This was the first time that the two jets had taken part in such a exercise. The IAF did not allow their pilots to use the radar of the MKIs during the exercise so as to protect the highly-classified N011M Bars. During the exercise, the RAF pilots candidly admitted that the Su-30MKI observed superior air-maneuvering.

The IAF has been exercising with other air forces like the United States Air Force (USAF), French Air Force, Singapore Air Force, and Israeli Air Force over the last couple of years. An earlier variant of the MKI, the MK, took part in war games with the USAF during Cope-India 04 where USAF F-15 Eagles were pitted against Indian Air Force Su-30MKs, Mirage 2000s, MiG-29s and elderly MiG-21. The results have been widely publicized, with the Indians winning "90% of the mock combat missions". In July 2008, the IAF sent 6 Su-30MKIs and 2 aerial-refueling tankers, the Il-78MKI, to participate in the Red Flag exercise. In October 2008, a video surfaced on the internet which featured a USAF colonel criticizing the performance of the Su-30MKI pilots during the exercise. USAF issued an apology to IAF and distanced itself from the remarks of the colonel.

KARGIL WAR

2008-12-22T04:31:00.000-08:00

The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict,was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir. The cause of the war was the infiltration of Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri militants into positions on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LOC), which serves as the de facto border between the two states. During and directly after the war, Pakistan blamed the fighting entirely on independent Kashmiri insurgents, but documents left behind by casualties and later statements by Pakistan's Prime Minister and Chief of Army Staff showed involvement of Pakistani paramilitary forces, led by General Ashraf Rashid. The Indian Army, supported by the Indian Air Force, attacked the Pakistani positions and, with international diplomatic support, eventually forced withdrawal of the Pakistani forces across the LOC.

The war is one of the most recent examples of high altitude warfare in mountainous terrain, which posed significant logistical problems for the combating sides. This was only the second direct ground war between any two countries after they had developed nuclear weapons, after the Sino-Soviet border conflict of 1969; it is also the most recent. (India and Pakistan both test-detonated fission devices in May 1998, though the first Indian nuclear test was conducted in 1974.) The conflict led to heightened tension between the two nations and increased defence spending by India. In Pakistan, the aftermath caused instability of the government and the economy, and, on October 12, 1999, a coup d'etat by the military placed army chief Pervez Musharraf in power.

Location:

Before the Partition of India in 1947, Kargil was part of the Baltistan district of Ladakh, a sparsely populated region with diverse linguistic, ethnic and religious groups, living in isolated valleys separated by some of the world's highest mountains. The First Kashmir War (1947–48) concluded with the Line of Control (LOC) bisecting the Baltistan district, with the town and district of Kargil lying on the Indian side in the Ladakh subdivision of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. After Pakistan's defeat in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the two nations signed the Simla Agreement promising not to engage in armed conflict with respect to that boundary.

The town of Kargil is located 205 km (120 miles) from Srinagar facing the Northern Areas across the LOC. Like other areas in the Himalayas, Kargil has a temperate climate. Summers are cool with frigid nights, while winters are long and chilly with temperatures often dropping to −48 °C (−54 °F).

An Indian national highway (NH 1) connecting Srinagar to Leh cuts through Kargil. The area that witnessed the infiltration and fighting is a 160 km long stretch of ridges overlooking this highway. The military outposts on the ridges above the highway were generally around 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) high, with a few as high as 5,485 metres (18,000 ft).Apart from the district capital, Kargil, the populated areas near the front line in the conflict included the Mushko Valley and the tiny town of Drass, southwest of Kargil, as well as the Batalik sector and other areas, northeast of Kargil.

One of the reasons why Kargil was targeted was that the terrain surrounding it, lent itself to pre-emptive seizure of unoccupied military positions. With tactically vital features and well-prepared defensive posts atop the peaks, a defender of the high ground would enjoy advantages akin to a fortress. Any attack to dislodge a defender from high ground in mountain warfare requires a far higher ratio of attackers to defenders, and the difficulties would be exacerbated by the high altitude and freezing temperatures.

Kargil was also just 173 km (108 mi) from the Pakistani-controlled town of Skardu, which was capable of providing logistical and artillery support to Pakistani combatants. In addition to these tactical advantages, the Kargil district had a Muslim majority, which may have led Pakistani forces to expect local support for the infiltration as it had been expected in Operation Gibraltar.

Background:

After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, there had been a long period with relatively few direct armed conflicts involving the military forces of the two neighbors - notwithstanding the efforts of both nations to control the Siachen Glacier by establishing military outposts on the surrounding mountains ridges and the resulting military skirmishes in the 1980s. During the 1990s, however, escalating tensions and conflict due to separatist activities in Kashmir, some of which were supported by Pakistan, as well as the conducting of nuclear tests by both countries in 1998, led to an increasingly belligerent atmosphere. In an attempt to defuse the situation, both countries signed the Lahore Declaration in February 1999, promising to provide a peaceful and bilateral solution to the Kashmiri issue.

During the winter of 1998 -1999, some elements of the Military of Pakistan were covertly training and sending Pakistani troops and paramilitary forces, some allegedly in the guise of mujahideen, into territory on the Indian side of the LOC. The infiltration was code named "Operation Badr";its aim was to sever the link between Kashmir and Ladakh, and cause Indian forces to withdraw from the Siachen Glacier, thus forcing India to negotiate a settlement of the broader Kashmir dispute. Pakistan also believed that any tension in the region would internationalise the Kashmir issue, helping it to secure a speedy resolution. Yet another goal may have been to boost the morale of the decade-long rebellion in Indian Administered Kashmir by taking a proactive role. Some writers have speculated that the operation's objective may also have been as a retaliation for India's Operation Meghdoot in 1984 that seized much of Siachen Glacier.

According to India's then army chief Ved Prakash Malik, and many other scholars, much of the background planning, including construction of logistical supply routes, had been undertaken much earlier. On several occasions during the 1980s and 1990s, the army had given Pakistani leaders (namely Zia ul Haq and Benazir Bhutto) similar proposals for infiltration into the Kargil region, but the plans had been shelved for fear of drawing the nations into all-out war.

Some analysts believe that the blueprint of attack was reactivated soon after Pervez Musharraf was appointed chief of army staff in October 1998. After the war, Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan during the Kargil conflict, claimed that he was unaware of the plans, and that he first learned about the situation when he received an urgent phone call from Atal Bihari Vajpayee, his counterpart in India. Sharif attributed the plan to Musharraf and "just two or three of his cronies", a view shared by some Pakistani writers who have stated that only four generals, including Musharraf, knew of the plan.Musharraf, however, asserted that Sharif had been briefed on the Kargil operation 15 days ahead of Vajpayee's journey to Lahore on February 20.

War progress:

There were three major phases to the Kargil War. First, Pakistan infiltrated forces into the Indian-controlled section of Kashmir and occupied strategic locations enabling it to control NH1. The next stage consisted of India discovering the infiltration and mobilizing forces to respond to it. The final stage involved major battles by Indian and Pakistani forces resulting in India capturing positions held by Pakistani forces and the withdrawal of Pakistani forces back across the Line of Control.

Occupation by Pakistan:

During the winter season, due to extreme cold in the mountainous areas of Kashmir, it was a common practice for both the Indian and Pakistan Armies to abandon some forward posts on their respective sides of the LOC and to reduce patrolling of areas that may be avenues of infiltration. When weather conditions became less severe, forward posts would be reoccupied and patrolling resumed.

During February 1999, the Pakistan Army began to re-occupy the posts it had abandoned on its side of the LOC in the Kargil region, but also sent forces to occupy some posts on the Indian side of the LOC. Troops from the elite Special Services Group as well as four to seven battalions^[30]^[31] of the Northern Light Infantry (a paramilitary regiment not part of the regular Pakistani army at that time) covertly and overtly set up bases on the vantage points of the Indian-controlled region. According to some reports, these Pakistani forces were backed by Kashmiri guerrillas and Afghan mercenaries.

Pakistani intrusions took place in the heights of the lower Mushkoh valley, along the Marpo La ridgeline in Dras, in Kaksar near Kargil, in the Batalik sector east of the Indus river, the heights above of the Chorbatla sector where the LC turns North as well in the Turtok sector south of the Siachen area.

India discovers infiltration and mobilizes

Initially, these incursions were not detected for a number of reasons: Indian patrols were not sent into some of the areas infiltrated by the Pakistani forces and heavy artillery fire by Pakistan in some areas provided cover for the infiltrators. But by the second week of May, the ambushing of an Indian patrol team, acting on a tip-off by a local shepherd in the Batalik sector, led to the exposure of the infiltration. Initially with little knowledge of the nature or extent of the encroachment, the Indian troops in the area assumed that the infiltrators were jihadis and claimed that they would evict them within a few days. Subsequent discovery of infiltration elsewhere along the LoC, and the difference in tactics employed by the infiltrators, caused the Indian army to realize that the entire plan of attack was on a much bigger scale. The total area seized by the ingress is generally accepted to between 130 km² - 200 km²;Musharraf however, stated that 500 square miles (1,300 km²) of Indian territory was occupied.

The Government of India responded with Operation Vijay, a mobilisation of 200,000 Indian troops. However, because of the nature of the terrain, division and corps operations could not be mounted; the scale of the subsequent fighting was mostly at the regimental or battalion level. In effect, two divisions of the Indian Army, numbering 20,000, plus several thousand from the Paramilitary forces of India and the air force were deployed in the conflict zone. The total number of Indian soldiers that were involved in the military operation on the Kargil-Drass sector was thus close to 30,000. The number of infiltrators, including those providing logistical backup, has been put at approximately 5,000 at the height of the conflict. This figure includes troops from Pakistan-administered Kashmir that were involved in the war providing additional artillery support.

The Indian Air Force launched Operation Safed Sagar in support of the mobilization of Indian land forces, but its effectiveness during the war was limited by the high altitude, which in turn limited bomb loads and the number of airstrips that could be used.

The Indian Navy also readied itself for an attempted blockade of Pakistani ports (primarily Karachi port)to cut off supply routes. Later, the then-Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif disclosed that Pakistan was left with just six days of fuel to sustain itself if a full-fledged war had broken out

India attacks Pakistani Positions

The terrain of Kashmir is mountainous and at high altitudes; even the best roads, such as National Highway No. 1 (NH 1) from Leh to Srinagar, are only two lanes. The rough terrain and narrow roads slowed traffic, and the high altitude, which affected the ability of aircraft to carry loads, made control of NH 1A (the actual stretch of the highway which was under Pakistani fire) a priority for India. From their observation posts, the Pakistani forces had a clear line of sight to lay down indirect artillery fire on NH 1A, inflicting heavy casualties on the Indians. This was a serious problem for the Indian Army as the highway was its main logistical and supply route. The Pakistani shelling of the arterial road posed the threat of Leh being cut off, though an alternative (and longer) road to Leh existed via Himachal Pradesh.

The infiltrators, apart from being equipped with small arms and grenade launchers, were also armed with mortars, artillery and anti-aircraft guns. Many posts were also heavily mined, with India later stating to having recovered more than 8,000 anti-personnel mines according to an ICBL report.Pakistan's reconnaissance was done through unmanned aerial vehicles and AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder radars supplied by the US.^[40] The initial Indian attacks were aimed at controlling the hills overlooking NH 1A, with high priority being given to the stretches of the highway near the town of Kargil. The majority of posts along the Line of Control were adjacent to the highway, and therefore the recapture of nearly every infiltrated post increased both the territorial gains and the security of the highway. The protection of this route and the recapture of the forward posts were thus ongoing objectives throughout the war.

The Indian Army's first priority was to recapture peaks that were in the immediate vicinity of NH1a. This resulted in Indian troops first targetting the Tiger Hill and Tololing complex in Dras, which dominated the Srinagar-Leh route.This was soon followed by the Batalik-Turtok sub-sector which provided access to Siachen Glacier. Some of the peaks that was of vital strategic importance to the Pakistani defensive troops were Point 4590 and Point 5353. While 4590 was the nearest point that had a view of NH1a, point 5353 was the the highest feature in the Dras sector, allowing the Pakistani troops to observe NH1A. The recapture of Point 4590 by Indian troops on June 14 was significant, notwithstanding the fact that Point 4590 resulting in the Indian Army suffering the most casualties in a single battle during the conflict. Though most of the posts in the vicinity of the highway were cleared by mid-June, some parts of the highway near Drass witnessed sporadic shelling until the end of the war.

An IAF plane shot down by Pakistan

Once India regained control of the hills overlooking NH 1A, the Indian Army turned to driving the invading force back across the Line of Control. The Battle of Tololing, among other assaults, slowly tilted the combat in India's favor. Nevertheless, some of the posts put up a stiff resistance, including Tiger Hill (Point 5140) that fell only later in the war. A few of the assaults occurred atop hitherto unheard of peaks – most of them unnamed with only Point numbers to differentiate them – which witnessed fierce hand to hand combat.

As the operation was fully underway, about 250 artillery guns were brought in to clear the infiltrators in the posts that were in the line of sight. The Bofors field howitzer (infamous in India due to the Bofors scandal) played a vital role, with Indian gunners making maximum use of the terrain that assisted such an attack. However, its success was limited elsewhere due to the lack of space and depth to deploy the Bofors gun.

It was in this type of terrain that aerial attacks were used with limited effectiveness. The IAF lost a MiG-27 strike aircraft which it attributed to an engine failure as well as a MiG-21 fighter which was shot down by Pakistan; Pakistan said it shot down both jets after they crossed into its and one Mi-8 helicopter to Stinger SAMs. During attacks the IAF used laser-guided bombs to destroy well-entrenched positions of the Pakistani forces.

Footage of IAF's successful strike mission on Tiger Hill.

In many vital points, neither artillery nor air power could dislodge the outposts manned by the Pakistan soldiers, who were out of visible range. The Indian Army mounted some direct frontal ground assaults which were slow and took a heavy toll given the steep ascent that had to be made on peaks as high as 18,000 feet (5,500 m). Since any daylight attack would be suicidal, all the advances had to be made under the cover of darkness, escalating the risk of freezing. Accounting for the wind chill factor, the temperatures were often as low as −11 °C to −15 °C (12 °F to 5 °F) near the mountain tops. Based on military tactics, much of the costly frontal assaults by the Indians could have been avoided if the Indian Military had chosen to blockade the supply route of the opposing force, virtually creating a siege. Such a move would have involved the Indian troops crossing the LoC as well as initiating aerial attacks on Pakistan soil, a manoeuvre India was not willing to exercise fearing an expansion of the theatre of war and reducing international support for its cause.

Two months into the conflict, Indian troops had slowly retaken most of the ridges they had lost; according to official count, an estimated 75%–80% of the intruded area and nearly all high ground was back under Indian control.

World opinion

Pakistan was criticised by other countries for allowing its paramilitary forces and insurgents to cross the Line of Control's primary diplomatic response, one of plausible deniability linking the incursion to what it officially termed as "Kashmiri freedom fighters", was in the end not successful. Veteran analysts argued that the battle was fought at heights where only seasoned troops could survive, so poorly equipped freedom fighters would neither have the ability nor the wherewithal to seize land and defend it. Moreover, while the army had initially denied the involvement of its troops in the intrusion, two soldiers were awarded the Nishan-E-Haider (Pakistan's highest military honour). Another 90 soldiers were also given gallantry awards, most of them posthumously, confirming Pakistan's role in the episode. India also released taped phone conversations between the Army Chief and a senior Pakistani general where the latter is recorded saying: "the scruff of [the militants] necks is in our hands," although Pakistan dismissed it as a "total fabrication". Concurrently, Pakistan made several contradicting statements, confirming its role in Kargil, when it defended the incursions saying that the LOC itself was disputed. Pakistan also attempted to internationalize the Kashmir issue, by linking the crisis in Kargil to the larger Kashmir conflict but, such a diplomatic stance found few backers on the world stage.

As the Indian counter-attacks picked up momentum, Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif flew to meet U.S. president Bill Clinton on July 4 to obtain support from the United States. Clinton rebuked Sharif, however, and asked him to use his contacts to rein in the militants and withdraw Pakistani soldiers from Indian territory. Clinton would later reveal in his autobiography that "Sharif’s moves were perplexing" since the Indian prime minister had travelled to Lahore to promote bilateral talks aimed at resolving the Kashmir problem and "by crossing the Line of Control, Pakistan had wrecked the [bilateral] talks. the other hand, he applauded Indian restraint for not crossing the LoC and escalating the conflict into an all-out war.

G8 nations supported India and condemned the Pakistani violation of the LOC at the Cologne summit. The European Union also opposed Pakistan's violation of the LOC.China, a long-time ally of Pakistan, did not intervene in Pakistan's favour, insisting on a pullout of forces to the LoC and settling border issues peacefully. Other organizations like the ASEAN Regional Forum too supported India's stand on the inviolability of the LOC.

Faced with growing international pressure, Sharif managed to pull back the remaining soldiers from Indian territory. The joint statement issued by Clinton and Sharif conveyed the need to respect the Line of Control and resume bilateral talks as the best forum to resolve all disputes.

Impact and influence of media

News footage shows the BM-21 Grad MRL system being fired in the background. The rocket barrage was aimed at Tiger Hill.

The Kargil War was significant for the impact and influence of the mass media on public opinion in both nations. Coming at a time of exploding growth in electronic journalism in India, the Kargil news stories and war footage were often telecast live on TV,^[59] and many websites provided in-depth analysis of the war. The conflict became the first "live" war in South Asia;^[60] it was given such detailed media coverage that one effect was the drumming up of jingoistic feelings.

The conflict soon turned into a news propaganda war. Press briefings by government officials of each nation produced such conflicting claims and counterclaims that an outside observer listening to both Indian and Pakistani coverage would wonder whether they were describing the same conflict. The Indian government placed a temporary news embargo on information from Pakistan, banning the telecast of the state-run Pakistani channel PTV and blocking access to online editions of the Dawn newspaper. The Pakistani media criticized this apparent curbing of freedom of the press in India, while India media claimed it was in the interest of national security. The Indian government ran advertisements in foreign publications including The Times and The Washington Post detailing Pakistan's role in supporting extremists in Kashmir in an attempt to garner political support for its position.

As the war progressed, media coverage of the conflict was more intense in India than in Pakistan. Many Indian channels showed images from the battle zone in a style reminiscent of CNN's coverage of the Gulf War (one of the shells fired by Pakistan troops even hit a Doordarshan transmission centre in Kargil while coverage continued). for India's increased coverage included the greater number of privately owned electronic media in India compared to Pakistan and relatively greater transparency in the Indian media. At a seminar in Karachi, Pakistani journalists agreed that while the Indian government had taken the press and the people into its confidence, Pakistan had not.

The print media in India and abroad was largely sympathetic to the Indian cause, with editorials in newspapers based in the west and other neutral countries observing that Pakistan was largely responsible for the conflict. Some analysts believe that Indian media, which was both larger in number and more credible, may have acted as a force multiplier for the Indian military operation in Kargil and served as a morale booster. the fighting intensified, the Pakistani version of events found little backing on the world stage. This helped India gain valuable diplomatic recognition for its position.

WMDs and the nuclear factor

Since Pakistan and India each had weapons of mass destruction, many in the international community were concerned that if the Kargil conflict intensified, it could lead to nuclear war. Both countries had tested their nuclear capability in 1998 (India conducted its first test in 1974 while it was Pakistan's first-ever nuclear test). Many pundits believed the tests to be an indication of the escalating stakes in the scenario in South Asia. When the Kargil conflict started just a year after the nuclear tests, many nations desired to end it before it intensified.

International concerns increased when Pakistani foreign secretary Shamshad Ahmad made a statement on May 31 warning that an escalation of the limited conflict could lead Pakistan to use "any weapon" in its arsenal. was immediately interpreted as a threat of nuclear retaliation by Pakistan in the event of an extended war, and the belief was reinforced when the leader of Pakistan's senate noted, "The purpose of developing weapons becomes meaningless if they are not used when they are needed." such ambiguous statements from officials of both countries were viewed as warnings of an impending nuclear crisis where the combatants would consider use of their limited nuclear arsenals in 'tactical' nuclear warfare in the belief that it would not have ended in mutual assured destruction, as could have occurred in a nuclear conflict between the United States and the USSR. Some experts believe that following nuclear tests in 1998, the Pakistani military was emboldened by its nuclear deterrent to markedly increase coercion against India.

The nature of the India-Pakistan conflict took a more sinister turn when the U.S. received intelligence that Pakistani nuclear warheads were being moved towards the border. Bill Clinton tried to dissuade Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif from nuclear brinkmanship, even threatening Pakistan of dire consequences. According to a White House official, Sharif seemed to be genuinely surprised by this supposed missile movement and responded that India was probably planning the same. In an article in May 2000 Dr Sanjay Badri-Maharaj claimed that India too had readied at least five nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles, but could not back up this claim with any official proof.

Sensing a deteriorating military scenario, diplomatic isolation, and the risks of a larger conventional and nuclear war, Sharif ordered the Pakistani army to vacate the Kargil heights. He later claimed in his official biography that General Pervez Musharraf had moved nuclear warheads without informing him. Recently however, Pervez Musharraf revealed in his memoirs that Pakistan’s nuclear delivery system was not operational during the Kargil war; something that would have put Pakistan under serious disadvantage if the conflict went nuclear.

The threat of WMD included chemical and even biological weapons. Pakistan accused India of using chemical weapons and incendiary weapons such as napalm against the Kashmiri fighters. India, on the other hand, showcased a cache of gas masks, among other firearms, as proof that Pakistan may have been prepared to use non-conventional weapons. US official and the OPCW determined that Pakistani allegations of India using banned chemicals in its bombs were unfounded

Aftermath

India

Indian PM A.B.Vajpayee flashes the V sign after the Parliamentary elections in which his coalition emerged the victors. His handling of the Kargil crisis is believed to have played a big part in garnering the votes.

From the end of the war until February 2000, Indian stock market rose by over 30%. The next Indian national budget included major increases in military spending. There was a surge in patriotism, with many celebrities pitching in towards the Kargil cause.^[73] Indians were angered by media reports of the death of pilot Ajay Ahuja, and especially after Indian authorities reported that Ahuja had been murdered and his body mutilated by Pakistani troops. The war had produced higher than expected fatalities for the Indian military, with a sizeable percentage of them including newly commissioned officers. One month after conclusion of the Kargil war, the Atlantique Incident - where a Pakistan Navy plane was shot down by India - briefly reignited fears of a conflict between the two countries.

After the war, the Indian government severed ties with Pakistan and increased defence preparedness. India increased its defence budget as it sought to acquire more state of the art equipment.^[74] Media reported about military procurement irregularities and criticism of intelligence agencies like RAW, which failed to predict the intrusions or the identity/number of infiltrators during the war. An internal assessment report by the armed forces, published in an Indian magazine, showed several other failings, including "a sense of complacency" and being "unprepared for a conventional war" on the presumption that nuclearism would sustain peace. It also highlighted the lapses in command and control, the insufficient troop levels and the dearth of large-calibre guns like the Bofors. In 2006, retired Air Chief Marshal, A.Y. Tipnis, alleged that the Indian Army did not fully inform the government about the intrusions, adding that the army chief Ved Prakash Malik, was initially reluctant to use the full strike capability of the Indian Air Force, instead requesting only helicopter gunship support. Soon after the conflict, India also decided to complete the project - previously stalled by Pakistan - to fence the entire LOC.

The end of the Kargil conflict was followed by the 13th Indian General Elections to the Lok Sabha, which gave a decisive mandate to the NDA government. It was re-elected to power in September–October 1999 with a majority of 303 seats out of 545 in the Lok Sabha. On the diplomatic front, Indo-U.S. relations improved, as the United States appreciated Indian attempts to restrict the conflict to a limited geographic area.Relations with Israel – which had discreetly aided India with ordnance supply and matériel such as unmanned aerial vehicles and laser-guided bombs, as well as satellite imagery – also were bolstered.

Pakistan

Faced with the possibility of international isolation, the already fragile Pakistani economy was weakened further. The morale of Pakistani forces after the withdrawal declined as many units of the Northern Light Infantry suffered heavy casualties, and the government refused to acknowledge the dead bodies of its soldiers, issue that provoked outrage and protests in the Northern Areas. initially did not acknowledge many of its casualties, but Sharif later said that over 4,000 Pakistani troops were killed in the operation and that Pakistan had lost the conflict. Responding to this, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said, "It hurts me when an ex-premier undermines his own forces," and claimed that Indian casualties were more than that of Pakistan.

Many in Pakistan had expected a victory over the Indian military based on Pakistani official reports on the war, were dismayed by the turn of events and questioned the eventual retreat. The military leadership is believed to have felt let down by the prime minister's decision to withdraw the remaining fighters. However, some authors, including ex-CENTCOM Commander Anthony Zinni, and ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, state that it was General Musharraf who requested Sharif to withdraw the Pakistani troops. With Sharif placing the onus of the Kargil attacks squarely on the army chief Pervez Musharraf, there was an atmosphere of uneasiness between the two. On October 12, 1999, General Musharraf staged a bloodless coup d'état, ousting Nawaz Sharif.

Benazir Bhutto, an opposition leader and former prime minister, called the Kargil War "Pakistan's greatest blunder". Many ex-officials of the military and the ISI (Pakistan's principal intelligence agency) also believed that "Kargil was a waste of time" and "could not have resulted in any advantage" on the larger issue of Kashmir. A retired Pakistani Army General, Lt Gen Ali Kuli Khan, lambasted the war as "a disaster bigger than the East Pakistan tragedy", adding that the plan was "flawed in terms of its conception, tactical planning and execution" that ended in "sacrificing so many soldiers." The Pakistani media criticized the whole plan and the eventual climbdown from the Kargil heights since there were no gains to show for the loss of lives and it only resulted in international condemnation.

Despite calls by many, no public commission of inquiry was set up in Pakistan to investigate the people responsible for initiating the conflict. The PML(N) published a white paper in 2006, which stated that Nawaz Sharif constituted an inquiry committee that recommended a court martial for General Pervez Musharraf, but Musharraf "stole the report" after toppling the government, to save himself. report also claims that India knew about the plan 11 months before its launch, enabling a complete victory for India on military, diplomatic and economic fronts. A statement in June, 2008 by a former army corps commander of Pakistan that Sharif "was never briefed by the army" on the Kargil attack, reignited the demand for a probe of the episode by legal and political groups.

Though the Kargil conflict had brought the Kashmir dispute into international focus – which was one of the aims of Pakistan – it had done so in negative circumstances that eroded its credibility, since the infiltration came just after a peace process between the two countries was underway. The sanctity of the LOC too received international recognition.

After the war, a few changes were made to the Pakistan army. In recognition of the Northern Light Infantry's performance in the war - which even drew praise from a retired Indian Lt. General - the regiment was incorporated into the regular army. The war showed that despite a tactically sound plan that had the element of surprise, little groundwork had been done to gauge the politico-diplomatic ramifications. like previous unsuccessful infiltrations attempts, such as Operation Gibraltar, which sparked the 1965 war, there was little coordination or information sharing among the branches of the Pakistan military. One U.S. Intelligence study is reported to have stated that Kargil was yet another example of Pakistan’s (lack of) grand strategy, repeating the follies of the previous wars.

INDIA vs PAKISTAN: AN ANALYSIS OF WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THEY WENT TO WAR (AND WHO WOULD WIN).

2008-12-21T20:16:00.000-08:00

ANALYSIS -- Air Battle

Initial strike carried out by Indian Sukhoi 33s/30s, Harriers, MiG-27's, MiG-23's, MiG-21's and Jaguar's on forward Pakistani command posts, airfields, weapon storage facilities (namely nuclear weapons and IRBM) and communication relay stations escorted by MiG 29's, MiG-23's, Mirage 2000 and MiG 21-93's. While the Indian Naval Harriers and attack craft attack the port of Karachi in an attempt to close it to keep reinforcements from sympathetic Islamic countries coming in via sea.

In such a situation the Pakistani Air Force would have a major problem securing their airspace mainly due to the fact that their aircraft lack any real BVR (beyond visual range) capability or look-down shoot-down capability with only their F-16's having a look-down shoot-down capability but limited to only AIM-9 Sidewinders (Note:- although Pakistan is thought to have up to 500 AIM-7 Sparrows the only F-16A's capable of firing them are the F-16A Block 15 ADF used by the USAF). While their Mirage III's , V's , F-7's (MiG-21) and F-6's (MiG-19) have no look-down shoot-down capability and no BVR capability (Note:- some F-7's and Mirage III/V are to be upgraded, this will include new radar's and other avionics). While this gap may be filled in the near future through the FC-1 fighter while this would the PAF a look-down shoot-down capability that it presently lacks it would not be superior to the MiG-29, Mirage 2000 or the LCA. Thus at present this means that if Indian attack aircraft come in at low level Pakistani aircraft would have difficulty in detecting IAF aircraft and have no capability of engaging them at long range. While the Indian escort aircraft having a BVR capability with weapons including AA-10 Alamo's , AA-12 Adders and Super 530D AAM's would have the capability to engage PAF aircraft at medium/long range allowing IAF attack aircraft to operate under an umbrella of air cover, thus giving the IAF effective air superiority over much of the battle field. ( There have also been reports that the IAF have treated their front line aircraft such as the Jaguar, MiG-29, MiG-27 and Mirage 2000 with a stealth material said to reduce the RCS of aircraft by up to 70% and increases weight by up to 50kg, Aircraft & Aerospace Asia-Pacific, Feb. 1996 pg.20). Without a BVR capability Pakistan has to rely on a SAM system based primarily on short range SAM's like the Crotale and man portable SAM's like the Stinger and indigenous Anza, here to Pakistan lacks the modern SAM system that most armies now have. While the IAF will sustain losses to SAM's without a medium range, low-medium altitude SAM Pakistan will suffer serious losses to Indian deep strike missions.

Another weakness of the PAF is their apparent lack of dedicated attack aircraft with the Q-5 Fantan being their only dedicated strike aircraft , with the F-6's (MiG-19's) and Mirage III / V having to double as point defence fighters or interceptors. Secondly none of these aircraft have the capability to deliver PGM's only 'dumb' bomb's. The best strike aircraft possessed by the PAF is the F-16 but it is unlikely that Pakistan would use it's only advanced fighter in a strike role (Note: some reports suggest that Pakistan may have acquired PGM's from Denel). This limits the ability of the PAF to strike deep into India or hit targets with any great precision. This has been recognized by the Pakistani Government which attempted to fill the hole with attempted procurements of both the Su-27 and the Mirage 2000. Both procurement programs were abandoned after the respective companies pulled out after pressure by India as both companies are lobbying for a multi billion dollar training aircraft contract for the IAF and due to spiralling costs. Most recently the PAF has become involved in the FC-1 program , an aircraft which would be powered by the RD-93 , be equipped with an advanced look down - shoot down radar and have a g-limit of + 8g's (possibly 9+ for the PAF). In comparison the IAF recently acquired a PGM capability with the acquisition of the Rafael Litening laser designation pod for it's Jaguar's and Mirage 2000. While it is investigating the possibility of upgrading it's MiG-27 attack aircraft.

The IAF's superiority in aircraft with 135 modern combat aircraft (with 125 MiG 21 to be upgraded to the 21-93 standard, a projected 200 LCA to be delivered by 2010 and 40 Su-30MKI's with the option to manufacture 100) to the PAF's 38 (with a possible 150 FC-1's to be delivered within the next 10-15 years provided the program continues) would result in the IAF gaining almost complete air superiority over much of the battle field while limiting the ability of the PAF to strike deep into India.

It is also probable that Saudi Arabia may loan Pakistan an AWACS aircraft as Russia has previously done with the Tu-126 Moss. It is also probable that if Saudi Arabia were to send Pakistan an AWACS that they would also send along at least one squadron of F-15 interceptors as escort for the AWACS as well as to defend the AWACS in operations. While an AWACS if would be a massive improvement in Pakistan's air defence capability, it is unlikely that Saudi Arabia would send more than 1 and without an airborne refuelling system and because of post flight maintenance the AWACS would probably be limited to 1 flight per day (with 12 hours on patrol). It is also possible that the United Arab Emirates would provide help in the form of Mirage 2000's. Another potential vulnerability of the Pakistani air force is its dependence on ground controlled intercept's, any attacks on control towers, command and control centres and the use of communications jamming could cause significant problems to airborne units which would find themselves isolated and due to the lack of effective radars unable to engage the enemy. This type of tactic would be particularly effective at night as it would allow Indian fighters to engage Pakistani units at long range at relatively low risk.

The PAF would be expected to lose about 40-50% of it's aircraft while the IAF would be expected to sustain losses of around 20% - 30% consisting of mainly MiG-21's and other ground attack aircraft which would be forced to get into close combat with the PAF aircraft as well as loses due to Pakistani SAM's such as the Crotale and the large number of hand held SAM's. The overall lack of modern aircraft seriously damage's the capability of the PAF in defending Pakistani airspace despite the high quality of it's pilots.

ANALYSIS -- Sea battle:

In naval matters India has a large advantage over the Pakistani Navy namely to it's aircraft carrier VIRAAT equipped with Harriers and Sea Kings along with a large number of surface vessels including six destroyers the latest of which are the Delhi Class DDG's which are among the worlds finest destroyers with 2 more planed, large numbers of frigates, corvettes including the Godavari Class (6) , Khukri Class (8) , Improved Krivak III Class (3 are on order and 3 are planed) and the Tarantul-I Class (11 of which are in service ; 5 are planed) and 17 submarines including nine Soviet Kilo class and four German SSK 209 Class, Type 1500. With a program to produce SLCM armed nuclear submarines and one aircraft carrier, along with this talks with Russia over the sale of Admiral Gorshkov continue, the current deal would see Admiral Gorshkov being equipped with a 14.5deg ski jump and MiG-29K's and possibly a navalised LCA, this would put the Indian Navy effectively into fifth place behind the US, UK, France and Russia.

In comparison the Pakistani Navy is based around 6 Type 21 Amazon class frigates bought from the RN after being forced to return 8 US frigates (Brooke class) due to sanctions. The Amazon class are veterans of the Falklands War where two were lost due to air attacks, displaying a major venerability to air attack. Their main armament comes in the form of four M.38 Exocet SSM (refitted with Harpoons) and LY 60N SAM's which have a range of 13km. With no aircraft carrier the fleet is left naked to air attack from INS Harriers , Sea Kings and IAF Jaguars all of which are equipped with Sea Eagle ASM's which have a range of 110 km. The Jaguars have also had their radar's upgraded to the Elta EL/M - 2032 which has been offered as an upgrade by Israel.

With the recent acquisition of the Ka-31AEW for operations of the carrier VIRAAT severally reduces the ability of the PAF Mirages configured to carry Exocet's to avoid detection in their strikes on the INS carrier group, as the Ka-31AEW's would give the INS Sea Harriers sufficient time to intercept or harass any attackers. As experience form the Falklands War has shown the Sea Harrier is more than a match for the Mirage III/V , where no Sea Harriers were lost to Mirages in ACM in return for the destruction of approximately 20 Mirages and Skyhawks. The range of the Exocet of 50km (or 70km for the latest versions) when launched at altitude means that attackers will have to approach to aprox. 45km from the carrier group an undertaking that would be hazardous under the best of circumstances.

The sharpest teeth of the PN is it's submarine arm which consists of 4 Daphne and 2 Augosta which are equipped with Harpoon SSM's, with 3 Agosta 90B class to be delivered by 2006. Although the number at sea at any one time would be limited to approximately 2 due to the fact that a minimum of 3 sub's are needed to maintain one at sea continuously ( one at sea, one undergoing repairs/servicing and a dock side trainer). Secondly the submarines are quite rapidly reaching the end of their service lives having been replaced by almost all services due to the rapid advances in sonar technology and the proliferation of the Kilo class which has gained the nickname "Black Hole" by NATO due to its low noise signature. While the PN submarine arm would be a major thorn in the side of the INS the lack of surface support limits their ability to strike the INS. The INS submarine arm by comparison would receive large amounts of support both from surface vessels and from air assets ( i.e. Tu-142M Bear, Il-38 and Dornier 228 ).

Most naval experts agree that while the INS will take loses to the PN will be beaten due to in-effective air cover for their surface combatants and limited SAM capability as well as the fact that it would be out-numbered 3-1. The result would be a closing of the port of Karachi and inability of Pakistani allies to resupply Pakistan via the sea. Rather than engage the Indian fleet the Pakistan Navy should concentrate on attempting to hold open its sea lanes, as any attack on the Indian fleet would probably result in failure.

ANALYSIS -- Ground campaign

With the ground campaign it neither country has a clear advantage that would allow it a sweeping victory (Gulf War style) but rather it would result in a bloody campaign that would last several weeks possibly months. Unless a successful Blitzkrieg style of campaign can be accomplished by one of the sides. While India has a 2-1 advantage in personal (1.1 million to 500,000) The Pakistani Army has shown to be quite effective when operating in defence and any Indian attack can expect to meet severe Pakistani opposition.

As always in a ground campaign the side which can gain air superiority and can maintain an advantage in armoured vehicles has a distinct advantage. With the Indian Air Force having the ability to gain air superiority over the battle field and the Army having 2000 T-72 M1 , 1800 Vickers MBT's and 700 T-55's, with the Arjuin MBT to go into production in the near future. Compared to the Pakistani Army's 2000 MBT's consisting of T-55, T-59, T-69, T-85II, T80 (Ukrainian), M-47 and M-48's ( Note: the Al Khalid MBT is currently undergoing testing and is expected to enter production soon). This gives an advantage of 4500 MBT to the 2000 Pakistani MBT. But consideration has to be given to the fact that not all the MBT's , soldiers or aircraft can be pressed to front line use as India would have to maintain a significant presence on it's border with China as an India at war with Pakistan would represent a tempting target to China. Although the acquisition of nuclear weapons should provide a credible deterrent to China. One advantage that India could use is it's massive transport helicopter arm with over 300 in service and 200 ALH's planned, this could allow India to place large numbers of troops behind enemy line's quickly gaining a significant advantage, on the other hand Pakistan does not have anywhere near this capability.

Short of outstanding tactics from one of the sides the ground campaign would result in a bloody and protracted war with neither side gaining any serious advantages. Although the lack of Pakistani reserves would begin to tell as well as the ability of the IAF to strike major targets in Pakistan this would result in the gaining of some ground by the Indian Army but the existence of the state of Pakistan would never be threatened nor would there be the possibility of the Pakistani Army gaining much Indian territory. The greatest danger is that in the struggle to gain ground one of the sides may resort to the use of nuclear weapons.

While Pakistan would seem to have the better missiles they are based on Chinese designs or are Chinese in origin leaving a question mark over their accuracy and reliability. As recent launches have shown Chinese satellite launch vehicles are generally unreliable at best, while their ICBM's and IRBM's would be more reliable there is still a question mark over them, although they still provide a very credible nuclear threat to India but lack the accuracy to present any real conventional threat. On the other hand the Indian Prithvi SRBM which is capable of caring a 1 tone warhead over 250km has been reported to have attained an CEP of 10m in some tests through the use of a warhead similar to that of the RA-DAG warhead used by the Pershing II (Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter, April/May 1994, pg 20). While the Agni missile system said to have a range of 2500km is said to be just months away from production should the need arise, along with recent advances in Indian rocketry that have made the possibility of an Indian ICBM a reality. The recent acquisition of the S-300 SAM with a range in excess of 200km and a secondary ABM capability also provides India with basic ABM capability. Also the recent tests by India of sub kiloton nuclear weapons which are primarily used as battle field weapons suggests that Indian strategist's may have envisioned their use in battle.

Result.

In the final analysis the PAF and the Pakistani Naval Service would have had much of their offensive capabilities destroyed, while the Pakistani Army although better off would have lost most of it's top divisions , something that would have also occurred with the Indian Army. While the INS and IAF would be in a significantly better position than their Pakistani counterparts, the IAF would have to engage in a major rebuilding to address the losses that it would suffer to it's fleet mainly it's older attack fighters in their attacks on Pakistani targets and in maintaining air superiority, while the INS would have to address losses that would incur in it's engagements with the PNS. While Pakistan's push to become a regional superpower would have been severely curtailed. While the economies of both countries but in particular Pakistan would be severally damaged..

AGNI-2 MISSILE

2008-12-20T19:49:00.000-08:00

Agni is a Sanskrit/Hindi word meaning Fire, given that it is a strategic ballistic missile. The Agni missile family is envisaged to be the mainstay of the Indian missile-based strategic nuclear deterrence. The Agni-II is a medium range ballistic missile (MRBM) with two solid fuel stages and a Post Boost Vehicle (PBV) integrated into the missile's Re-entry Vehicle (RV). The Agni's manoeuvring RV is made of a carbon-carbon composite material that is light and able to sustain high thermal stresses of re-entry, in a variety of trajectories. The Agni-IIIA is a more advanced version of Agni-II, albeit with more sophisticated and lighter materials, yielding a better range and operating regime. The first test of Agni-IIIA is expected in the year 2009.

During the 1990s, India's security situation gradually worsened with security challenges from China, blatant Chinese nuclear and missiles proliferation to Pakistan, and mutual proliferation between Pakistan and North Korea. The strategic redline was crossed in 1998 when Pakistan tested the North-Korean supplied nuclear capable Ghauri (North Korean No-Dong) missile, that could threaten India's heartland. The international complicity in allowing nuclear proliferation by proxy into the hands of Pakistan and ability to deliver it over long ranges, obtained by trading in black-market North Korean No-Dong missiles, in return for Pakistani nuclear design and enrichment equipment by the Walmart of nuclear and missile black-market run by Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan and the Pakistani Military. This and other international security developments forced India to go fully nuclear, resulting in the Pokhran-II (POK-II) nuclear test series and its weaponization by developing the Agni family of ballistic missiles that could deliver a variety of payloads over long ranges.

Quick deployment of the Agni-II was possible, by building on the earlier Agni-TD program that provided proven critical technologies and designs required for long range ballistic missiles. Thus when the decision was made to build the Agni weapon system, some quick optimization and ruggedization was done to the basic '1980 vintage' design, including a solid fuelled second stage. Further the solid fuel chemistry, RV and avionics were brought up to state-of-the-art levels. As the Pokhran-II (PoK-II) nuclear test proved a family of more powerful and lighter nuclear weapons, the 200 KT thermonuclear weapon is far lighter compared to 1000 kg earlier budgeted for the 200 KT boosted nuclear weapon. Thus a high yield weapon configuration now assumes a payload of 500 kg, including weapon and RV. However, in the interest of rapid development the basic design that was earlier developed continued to be used and keeping the future option open, for more optimized missile design and lighter payload. The Agni-II missile will be used by 555th Missile Group of the Indian Army.

Description:

The Agni-II was first tested on 11 April 1999 at 9:47 a.m. IST (Indian Standard Time), from a converted rail carriage, with a carriage roof that slides open to allow the missile to be raised to the vertical for launch by two large hydraulic pistons. The launch process is controlled from a separate railcar. The missile was launched from the IC-4 pad at Wheeler Island, Balasore. Splash down was 2000 - 2100 km. down range in the Bay of Bengal, on a trajectory designed to simulate a range of 2800 - 3000 km. The Agni-II missile can also be launched from a road TEL vehicle, as demonstrated in the second test flight on 17 January 2001, at 10:01 a.m. IST (Indian Standard Time) to a range of 2100 km. This missile has a theoretical maximum range of some 3000 km with a 1000 kg payload (conventional or strategic).

Tested to range of over 2000 km, the Agni-II has an all-solid propellant system. After the January 17th test, the missile was cleared for production and it is possible that a production capacity (under-utilised at present) exists for 12 Agni-II missiles per year. On the January 17th test, the missile was alleged to have covered a range of over 2100 km with a 700 kg warhead. The Agni-II is designed to be launched from a rail-mobile launcher,it is also available in road-mobile configuration. This lends flexibility and reduces vulnerability to first strike.

The Agni-II is always be in a ready-to-fire mode and can be launched within 15 minutes as compared to almost half a day of preparation for the previous generation Agni-TD. In May 2001, and again in July 2001, the then-incumbent Defence Minister Jaswant Singh informed the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) that the Agni-II missile is operational, limited production had begun and induction being planned during 2001-2002. On 14 March 2002, Defence Minister George Fernandes informed Indian Parliament that the Agni-II has entered the production phase and is under induction. Agni-II is made by BDL in Hyderabad, with a production capacity of 18 missiles/year and costs about Rs.35 crore [34] for each missile.

Propulsion:

First Stage: The Agni-II's first stage is largely similar to that of Agni-TD's first stage. However the Agni-II booster is believed to employ more energetic fuel; Booster ISP of 269 (vacuum) and 237 (sea-level). It has a propellant mass of about 9 tons and estimated mass fraction of 0.865.

Second Stage: The Agni-II's second stage weighs ~4200 kg and uses solid fuel propellant. Its case is presumably made of the same material, high-strength 15CDV6 steel, as the booster stage for ease of manufacturing. This solid propellant stage has flex nozzles for thrust vectoring, for precise trajectory control. Unlike the Agni-TD, the solid fuel second stage does not require retro motors for proper stage separation. It uses a vented inter-stage.

Manoeuvring Re-Entry Vehicle: Agni RV-Mk.2

The 1980-vintage RV was reportedly designed to be able to carry a BARC-developed, boosted nuclear weapon of 200 KT yield weighing 1000 kg, also of 1980 vintage design. After making room for new and lighter Indian thermonuclear weapon payload, of 1995 vintage design, the MRV has room for about 200 kg (estimated) liquid fuel in pressurized vessels. Although for velocity correction, approximately 50 to 80 kg is estimated to be sufficient. At least one MRV variant type uses a set of solid fuelled cartridges for velocity trimming. The RV is reported to have an attitude control system and aerodynamic manoeuvre fins, presumably to make missile defense more difficult. Unconfirmed reports suggest that an improved optical or radar terminal phase correlation system has been developed to provide accuracy of around 40 meters CEP, although later reports have suggested that the accuracy was around 100 to 200 meters CEP. The RV largely inherits the basic shape, design and technology of the earlier Mk.1 RV of the Agni-TD.

Agni is unlike long-range missiles developed by western missiles where the RV is a passive ballistic load, whose accuracy depends on the launching vehicle's exact insertion into the sub-orbital trajectory. A large inaccuracy associated with the first generation RV, involved spinning the RV for greater stability during re-entry. Second generation western missiles were mostly MIRV (Multiple Independently targetable Re-entry Vehicle) and the accuracy was greatly improved by the payload bus with HAM velocity correction package for more accurate sub-orbit insertion. It also allowed individual MIRV payloads to impart different velocities, so that each can be independently targeted to a different target, albeit in nearby vicinity of each other. As before the RV continued to be passive and purely ballistic. The Agni-RV Mk.2 is more advanced than the western RVs, because it embodies proposition, navigation and control all the way to the target. The RV re-enters at an altitude of 100 km, at a shallow angle, with a gliding trajectory [38]. However it does not carry a MIRV payload.

Key Features of the Agni-RV Mk.2

The manoeuvring fins that allows it to;
- Execute a non-ballistic trajectory to make interception more difficult.
- Overcome any perturbation due to high altitude atmospheric disturbance.
- Enable use of body lift at hypersonic velocity to glide the missile over longer ranges, thus reducing the thermal and physical stress at a modified Max-Q point.
- Trajectory error to be determined late into the fight and corrected using aerodynamic force during re-entry.
- Terminal manoeuvre dive for a more acute target interdiction angle improving CEP.
- Support a wider range of payload weight and configuration.
Integrated velocity correction package for greater precision; has a set of solid fuelled cartridge(s) that are used to correct impulse variances of solid fuelled stages and subtle launch trajectory perturbation.
Integrated High Altitude Motor (HAM) which is liquid fuelled. Depending on the actual payload configuration, the HAM fuel load can be increased to trade range for a lighter and more compact weapon.
Larger internal volume allows more sophisticated ABM (anti-ballistic missile) counter-measures.

Avionics, Navigation and Control

The Agni family of missiles uses a strap-down INS system for flight control and navigation. Necessary inertial sensors were indigenously developed for the purpose, including laser rate gyros.

Agni-II introduced a new concept in missile control system by adopting MIL-STD-1553 databus for all on-board communication and control device interconnection --> mainly INS system, Flight Control Computer, actuators and sensors [42]. It is the standard that is adopted in new civilian & military aircraft (circuit routing and device mounting) and all the software in the Agni-II has been designed around this bus. DRDO sources claim that this reduces the number of connections and also makes the missile more rugged. However, some missile analysts feel that a standard databus may not be the best path to follow. It is said that a customized databus is better because in a standard databus, one tends to use off-the-shelf electronic devices whose performance may not be optimal. However most new missiles are moving towards digital buses using commercial off-the-shelf technology and which enables affordable sub-system replacement.

Accuracy

The Agni-II's navigation and aiming uses an advanced ground based beacon system using a TDOA (Time Delay Of Arrival) technique, similar to a GPS system, that constantly provides missile flight position and velocity updates and has been proven in test flights. The TDOA system reportedly improved the accuracy by three times. India has demonstrated a measure of mastery in navigation sensors and flight control through its space program. The placement accuracy in GTO (involving powered flight of 1000 seconds much of it in sub-G or gravity free environment) is far more complicated and delicate than that of the sub-orbital trajectory of an IRBM. Thus the GSLV-D2 and F01 GTO Apogee accuracy of 1965 PPM and 361 PPM respectively that compares with Agni-II's 40 meter CEP at IRBM ranges with 13 PPM accuracy.

It is worthwhile to note that INS error differs for a ballistic missile versus an aircraft. Ballistic missile accuracy is only dependent on the INS accuracy up to the point when rocket fuel is expended (100 seconds for Agni-II) and it exits the atmosphere (> 90 km altitude), after that the trajectory is purely ballistic that is predetermined and easily computed. INS in a combat aircraft requires continuous operation of IMU and navigation computer throughout the flight during which the error keeps building as IMU sensors drift. A ballistic missile that can update its position and velocity from auxiliary means, can completely eliminate the built up error from INS and continue flight at a precise predetermined path, if necessary correcting the launch error by using:

Small velocity correction thruster package and/or
Aerodynamic manoeuvring during re-entry (this requires active RV configuration with integrated INS and control system).

The Agni-II missile reportedly makes use of both the above techniques. The Agni-II exits atmosphere and expends the second stage at an altitude of 120 km and at a distance of about 150 km. This allows the ground based TDOA system to operate well within Indian Territory and at close range (i.e. robustness against Electronic Warfare interference). The missile maintains LOS (line of sight) well beyond apogee. The overall accuracy is the cumulated sum of:

Accuracy of determining geographic coordinate of target and launcher.
Accuracy of hitting the designated coordinates that is determined by missile's navigation and control system.

Launching the Agni from a surveyed site is one aspect of item 1 above. The sub-meter target coordinates, using national surveillance assets, (aerospace, sensors, etc) would largely address the accuracy of target coordinate designation. A long-range ballistic missile (passive RV) targeting error is typically spread in a highly elliptic pattern. The CEP is thus adversely biased by a wide error spread in a longitudinal axis (due to shallow incidence angle). The Agni's active manoeuvring RV with onboard IMU (INS) and control system can perform terminal manoeuvre to correct errors and make a more accurate top attack profile using greater incidence angle significantly reducing the longitudinal spread and overall CEP.

Range

The Bharat_Rakshak Agni page » MISSILE ARMOURY » AGNI - STRATEGIC BALLISTIC MISSILE has extensive data and analysis that uses public domain data and ballistic calculations to show that the range is greatly influenced by use or non-use of thrusters on the RV (required for velocity trimming) for propulsion as a HAM (High Altitude Motor). There seems to be room in the RV for about ~200 kg fuel (solid or liquid) after allowing for a long but lightweight TN weapon. This RV integrated HAM is referred to as the half stage after the two solid fuelled stages. This stage provides a disproportional increase in range for a lighter RV payload. Thus development of lightweight nuclear weapons is paramount to the missile's range.

When the Agni-II was first launched, then Defence Minister George Fernandes indicated that the maximum range of the Agni-II was 3000 km. Since then, ranges from 2000 km to 2500 km have been bandied about while Dr. Kalam, at Aero India '98, stated that Agni-II had a maximum range of 3,700 km! The range of 2000 km can be excluded, as the system has been tested to greater range in both 1999 and 2001. Given the test to 2300 km in 1999 and 2100 km in 2001, with an apparently lighter payload, would indicate that a variation in trajectory was used and it may be possible to extrapolate some more accurate estimates of Agni-II's maximum range.

It would appear that Agni-II has a theoretical ability to hit a target 3000 km away with a 1000 kg overall payload – (a 250 kg RV's deadweight and a 750 kg warhead). It is suggested that a 200 kiloton 'boosted fission' warhead was earlier developed for the Agni system when it was on the drawing board in the late 80s, however after the Pokhran-II series of nuclear test in May 1998, the 200 KT boosted fission design has clearly given way to a 200 - 300 KT two stage thermonuclear design that is expected to be much lighter. From the tables at Effect of payload and stage configuration on Agni-II range, one can see that a number of permutations and combinations are available to DRDO based on the existing Agni-II design and Indian propulsion technology. Range changes can be made by either varying the payload or by altering the engine configuration.

Given the available data, it is therefore clear that Agni-II has a maximum range of somewhere in excess of 3000 km, and possibly as high as 3500 km with a 1000 kg payload. Greater range with a lighter payload however requires the RV to be qualified for higher re-entry velocity and corresponding Max-Q for thermal stress.

Conclusion

As the backbone of the Indian land-based nuclear deterrent, the real significance of the Agni-II is the fact that it is both road and rail mobile. This is an indication of India's desire not to put its missiles into vulnerable silos. The mobility of the Agni-II, combined with the sheer physical size of India renders the mobile IRBM a very secure and survivable delivery system. Its range of strategic weapons payload and good accuracy make this strategic weapon useful for counter value as well as first strike role.

SI electricity units

2008-12-03T20:17:00.000-08:00

edit SI electromagnetism units
Symbol ^{[citation needed]}	Name of Quantity	Derived Units	Unit	Base Units
I	Magnitude of current	ampere (SI base unit)	A	A = W/V = C/s
q	Electric charge, Quantity of electricity	coulomb	C	A·s
U	Potential difference or Electromotive force	volt	V	J/C = kg·m²·s⁻³·A⁻¹
R, Z, X	Resistance, Impedance, Reactance	ohm	Ω	V/A = kg·m²·s⁻³·A⁻²
ρ	Resistivity	ohm metre	Ω·m	kg·m³·s⁻³·A⁻²
P	Power, Electrical	watt	W	V·A = kg·m²·s⁻³
C	Capacitance	farad	F	C/V = kg⁻¹·m⁻²·A²·s⁴
	Elastance	reciprocal farad	F⁻¹	V/C = kg·m²·A⁻²·s⁻⁴
ε	Permittivity	farad per metre	F/m	kg⁻¹·m⁻³·A²·s⁴
χ_e	Electric susceptibility	(dimensionless)	-	-
G, Y, B	Conductance, Admittance, Susceptance	siemens	S	Ω⁻¹ = kg⁻¹·m⁻²·s³·A²
σ	Conductivity	siemens per metre	S/m	kg⁻¹·m⁻³·s³·A²
H	Magnetic field, magnetic field intensity	ampere per metre	A/m	A·m⁻¹
Φ_m	Magnetic flux	weber	Wb	V·s = kg·m²·s⁻²·A⁻¹
B	Magnetic flux density, magnetic induction, magnetic field strength	tesla	T	Wb/m² = kg·s⁻²·A⁻¹ = N·A⁻¹·m⁻¹
	Reluctance	ampere-turn per weber	A/Wb	kg⁻¹·m⁻²·s²·A²
L	Inductance	henry	H	Wb/A = V·s/A = kg·m²·s⁻²·A⁻²
μ	Permeability	henry per metre	H/m	kg·m·s⁻²·A⁻²
χ_m	Magnetic susceptibility	(dimensionless)	-	-