India to export misiles
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Integrated trials for a dummy missile on an aircraft are scheduled for this year. This will see the airborne version of the BrahMos for deployment on the SU-30s of the Indian Air Force (IAF). Next year, the avionics will be established.
The changes needed for an aircraft-based weapon system will lead to a weight reduction of nearly 2.5 times its current weight since it will not need additional boosters to get airborne.
“The joint venture was created exclusively for the BrahMos and we have created variants. It is now a multi-platform, multi-target system. We have to undertake trials on submarines and air-based systems. This will create further variants,” he observed. The 290-km range, liquid fuel charged, 3-tonne missile carries a warhead of 200 kg conventional explosives. The cruise missile is a weapon of first strike, being a tactical weapon.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will launch two “futuristic” programmes during the current Plan period, Dr Pillai said. He was referring to a precision guided missile (PGM) programme to be undertaken at the Pune-based Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE).
“The PGM is for the future when intelligent and smart weapons will be needed. Future wars will be rapid, and the weapons will be precise, using the minimum of manpower. So, the ARDE is focused on two programmes, the PGM and the soldier assisted system, where everything from the soldier’s clothes to the weapons used will be embedded with sensors,” Dr Pillai said, sketching a sci-fi- like scenario.
Among the smart weapons will be the precision guided munitions (PGM), which will hit the target precisely to do the maximum damage. This is at a technical demonstration stage, Dr BS Sarma, director, ARDE, stated.
The country-wide laboratories of the DRDO are working on various aspects of the two projects.
Earlier, speaking at the inaugural session of a national seminar on advances in electroceramics, Dr Pillai stressed the need for India to be part of the global developments.
“The world-wide electroceramics market is expected to be worth US $11bn by ’07. Even a small part of this market is a huge amount,” he said, urging participants at the seminar to develop capabilities in this field.
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