Rafael's Spike anti-tank 'mis-guided' missile, lands near Peru's defence chiefs

21 May 2010 8ak: In April 2010, senior Peruvian defence personnel including the defence minister, army chief and senior legislators had a narrow escape when the Israeli Rafael's Spike LR anti-tank guided missile went haywire and landed 50 metres from where they were standing. Representatives on the site were taken to task and admitted to a technical problem with the equipment and were asked to submit a report within a week.

Fortunately, it did not explode so only one senior person was reportedly injured in the chaos that followed. According to TMCnet, the missile is designed to sets off two explosions when it reaches the target. The first shatters the tank's armour and the second injects a jet of heat that reaches 5,000 degrees celcius. In 2009, DID reported that Peru had placed a US$73million order for 488 Israeli and Russian anti-tank missiles. 

Spike has various versions - short/medium/long/extended/NLOS with the last one supposedly having a 25km range. In India, Rafael's Spike is a contender for a helicopter-launched version for which the RFP was issued recently. Israel has demonstrated versions of the anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) on some occasions in expectation of an upcoming tender for soldier portable, next generation fire-and-forget ATGMs. However, it will face tough competition from MBDA's Milan (tripod mounted), 2 offerings from American Raytheon - Javelin (man portable) & M47 Dragon (man-portable) and India's own vehicle mounted NAG. 

DRDO developed NAG under the, now completed, Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. The NAMICA platform will carry the vehicle-mounted version of NAG which has a range of 4km and has been authorised by the army for production. The Helicopter based version will be used on the weaponised HAL ALH Dhruv and is still under development with an extended range of up to 7km. DRDO's website claims that the all-weather seeker is under advanced stage of development. 

For information on Rafael's Spike go to Army Technology.or better still, watch this Marketing Video from the manufacturer.

India to test 5,000-km range Agni-V missile in 2011

21 May 2010 8ak: Upbeat after a string of successful tests of the Agni series missiles, the latest being the successful test of 2,000km medium range Agni-II ballistic missile on Monday, Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) is aiming to test Agni-V missile in early 2011.

Bombay news reports that DRDO will test fire its first Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), Agni-V in March-April 2011. Having a range of over 5,000 km to carry multiple warheads and will have countermeasures against anti-ballistic missile systems.

The year has been good for DRDO in terms of proving its capability to provide India with a capable missile. Earlier, DRDO had successfully tested Agni-III in February. The test result was significant because Agni-III with a range of 3,500km can target most major Chinese cities including Beijing. DRDO had also tested the 700km range Agni-I missile in March. 

On 10 Feb 8ak had reported that after the successful testing of Agni-III, DRDO would focus on development of Agni-V. The Agni-V is a three stage solid-fueled missile with composite motor casing in the third stage. Two stages of this missile will be made of composite material. Agni-V will be able to carry multiple warheads and will have countermeasures against Anti- ballistic missile systems. Advanced technologies like ring laser gyroscope and accelerometer will be used in the new missile. 

A must read on Agni-II from Ajai Shukla which has quotes from Avinash Chander, Director, Advanced Systems Laboratory.

BrahMos steals the show at Malaysian defence show

23 Apr 2010 8ak: Brahmand reports that the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile has attracted many high-level delegations from several participating countries at the ongoing Malaysian Defence Services Asia 2010. The high profile potential customers included Malaysia, Vietnam, South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, Egypt, Oman, Brunei and other African & Middle East countries. 

The Malaysian interest in the cruise missile comes at a critical time as the navy is looking for a new weapon system to equip its Meko A100 Kedah class ships. The development is being taken as a positive development within the Indian establishment, which has been looking to export the state-or-the-art missile system. Earlier, DefenceTalk had reported that India was looking to export the BrahMos to Chile, Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia. Additional GM Marketing division, BrahMos, Praveen Pathak, had earlier told 8ak that to facilitate the export of the missile, both the countries had formed a supervisory council, which has drawn up a list of friendly countries, to whom the missile could be exported. 

The Missile developed jointly by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s Mashinostroeyenia is considered to be the most sophisticated and fastest in its class around the globe. It can hit target up to 290-km and was initially developed for the Navy but the successful development of the missile resulted in developing an army version as well as an IAF version. 

The integration process of the missile on to the Sukhoi-30s operated by the IAF is going on and it is expected to enter active IAF service by 2012. Naval sources also confirmed to 8ak that the two nations will jointly develop a hypersonic Mach 8 version of BrahMos in the future and talks were progressing in the right direction for the same. Mach 8 version if developed will fulfil an Indian Navy requirement of a formidable Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) LACM and also pose a deadly threat to enemy warships sporting elaborate air defence radar systems like the "AEGIS type" vessels under construction for the Chinese People Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).

Indian Navy excited about BrahMos underwater launch

20 Apr 2010 8ak: Produced by an Indo-Russian joint venture, the BrahMos cruise missile is ready for launch from an underwater platform to enable it to be used in a submarine, Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony informed the Lok Sabha on Monday reports Manorama.

The missile, which can hit targets up to 290-km, was initially developed for the Navy but the successful development of the missile resulted in developing an army version as well as an IAF version. Earlier 8ak had reported that the induction of missile into the IAF would commence in 2012. 

The Missile developed jointly by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s Mashinostroeyenia is considered to be the most sophisticated and fastest in its class around the globe. There is a possibility that the two nations will jointly develop a hypersonic Mach 8 version of BrahMos in the future. Mach 8 version if developed will fulfil an Indian Navy requirement of a formidable Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) LACM and also pose a deadly threat to enemy warships sporting elaborate air defence radar systems like the "AEGIS type" vessels under construction for the Chinese People Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).

BrahMos supersonic cruise missile can be launched from land, aircraft, submarines and ships and has a maximum range of 290 km. The acronym BrahMos is perceived as the confluence of the two nations represented by two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskya of Russia. It travels at speeds of Mach 2.5 to 2.8 and is about three-and-a-half times faster than America’s subsonic Harpoon cruise missile.

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-fuelled 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.

8ak had earlier interviewed Praveen Pathak, Addl General Manager, Marketing for Brahmos during Defexpo 201 on recent developments on the BrahMos. 

Lockheed clarifies JAGM missile program versus the Hellfire II

16 Apr 2010 8ak/Lockheed. In response to an 8ak reader's query whether the recent Hellfire II test was refering to JAGM, Janina Rivera from Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control team clarified that the two programs are very different and said:

The JAGM Technology Development program is being conducted by the U.S. Army’s Joint Attack Munition Systems Project Office in Huntsville, AL, to replace the currently fielded HELLFIRE, Longbow, Airborne TOW and Maverick missiles for the U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps. JAGM provides the next-generation air-to-ground missile for employment from the services’ rotary-wing, fixed-wing and unmanned platforms.

JAGM will answer all eight critical capability gaps that have been validated and revalidated by the DoD Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC). They are:

1. Time Sensitive Moving Targets
2. High-Value Covered/Sheltered Targets
3. Dirty Battlefield/Countermeasures Environment
4. Austere Comms/Designator Environment
5. High Risk to Designator Environment
6. Logistics Simplicity
7. High Speed Water Craft/Patrol Craft and Non-Traditional Target Set
8. Adverse Weather/Low Ceiling
9. Reliability

Lockheed Martin’s JAGM has a tri-mode seeker – modes include semi-active laser, imaging infrared and millimeter radar. We have successfully conducted over 6,000 hours of seeker testing including successful captive carry flight tests. We have also demonstrated all of the required sensor modes simultaneously and are very pleased with the performance. Recent tests of the tri-mode seeker in a limited dirty battlefield/countermeasure rich environment successfully validated the capability and technical maturity of the Lockheed Martin tri-mode seeker. Having fully operational tri-mode seeker hardware this early in the program allows us to continue validating our software integration and test procedures. Seeker maturity is a key component to controlling program risk and ensuring an affordable, producible and supportable product.

With twice the range of the HELLFIRE motor, the Aerojet rocket motor used in the Lockheed Martin JAGM team offering has successfully met all three key motor requirements using one motor system: minimum/maximum range; minimum smoke; and hot/cold temperature thresholds. Our team’s rocket motor will perform even in the most extreme fixed-wing environments. We continue to demonstrate the low-risk, operational maturity of our JAGM system.

The Lockheed Martin JAGM team is on track for the System PDR in June 2010.

Army to acquire indigenous Akash missile

14 Apr 2010 8ak: The Hindu reports that the army has given the go ahead to procure the indigenously developed Akash missile. The time frame to induct the missile has not been determined, as it will depend on the delivery schedule Bharat Dynamics Limited, which makes the missile, is able to maintain. 

The decision to induct the missile was taken during the Defence Acquisition Council meeting last week, after the Army chief General V.K. Singh gave his “in-principle” approval for Akash induction. The decision to induct the Akash missile comes on the heels of the Rs 4,279 crore bagged by Bharat Electrical Limited (BEL), the nodal agency in Akash missile program, in February this year, from the IAF for additional 750 Akash Surface-to-Air-Missile (SAM). The IAF order was over and above the Rs 1,221 crore deal the IAF had signed with BEL for supplying 250-Akash missiles for two squadrons. 

In Aug 2009, 8ak had reported on the possibility that the Army was considering an Akash missile order. The missile can target aircraft up to 30 km away, at altitudes up to 18,000 m. Akash can be fired from both tracked and wheeled platforms. It is capable of carrying nuclear warheads with a payload of 60kg. The first test flight of Akash missile was conducted in 1990, with development flights up to March 1997. The Akash Project has been the most expensive missile project ever undertaken by the government of India in the 20th century. Total development costs for the missile and associated radars and systems was almost $US120 million.

The missile has a launch weight of 720 kg, a diameter of 35 cm and a length of 5.78 metres and flies at supersonic speed, reaching around Mach 2.5. The Akash missile has been developed jointly by DRDO and BEL as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program initiated by the government in the 1983 to develop futuristic missiles technology based on hypersonic rockets to provide a potent weapon to the armed forces in order to enhance national security. Other missiles developed under this program include the 700km-range nuclear- capable submarine- launched ballistic missile (SLBM) Sagarika, the 350km-range Prithvi, 3,500km-range Agni 3, Nag anti-tank missile and Trishul SAM. 

A study the blueprint of IGMP shows the advancement that India has made over the years in development of missile technology. The program underlines India's capability to attain self-reliance and present a deterrent from a hostile attack. Armed forces are however concerned about the low rate of production of these missiles and the long time it is taking to induct them into the services.