M7L2 Missile design and development

A missile design is based on the following criteria

1.    Why do you need? (Destructive capability that forms the basis of expected size and weight)

2.    Where do you plan to use it? (Range that forms the basis of expected accuracy and reliability measured by Circular Error Probability)

On that basis, the following components are selected

1.    Propulsion system (Engines)

2.    Propellant

3.    Launchpad

4.    Aerodynamics and sensors for Terminal navigation (inflight trajectory control) and guidance during boost » separation » penetration of atmosphere » detonation of warhead

5.    Type of Warhead

6.    Reentry heat shield/thermal shield to protect the nose during high G maneuvers.

7.    Target locking system

8.    Design concepts to reduce detection (stealth)

On this basis, we divide the missiles as

1.    Cruise or ballistic

2.    Visual or Beyond Visual Range

3.    Solid or Liquid Fuel

4.    Thermal seeking or Radar homing

5.    Active radar or Phased array radar

6.    Air independent propulsion or rocket fuel

7.    Penetration power of warhead (Unitary design, cluster munitions or pre-fragmented warhead, incendiary warheads, fuel air explosive etc.)

Ballistic missiles always follow parabolic path and pass through multiple layers of atmosphere, but cruise missiles are horizontal and fly close to the surface to avoid detection.

·         Unitary warheads are used against heavily fortified targets like command posts, oil and gas bunkers, aircraft shelters, runway penetrating bombs to make it unusable etc. ·         Pre-fragmented warheads or cluster munitions are dispersed against troops, airfields and radar stations. They may/may not be explosive. ·         Incendiary warheads can cause large scale fires and they are used as a terror weapon in urban areas. ·         Fuel air explosive use aerosols to engulf a large area in fire. However, this technique requires low speed platforms that make it more vulnerable.

Role of DRDO

The scientific advisor of the Defense Ministry is the secretary and authority, which heads the DRDO. It was established in the year 1958 and is responsible for the development of technology for use by the Indian armed forces. DRDO is reputed for missing timelines, delays and cost overruns.

DRDO which takes care of developing defense technologies also covers different fields such as aeronautics, armaments, electronics, land combat, engineering, life sciences, materials, missiles, agriculture, communications systems and naval systems etc. It is involved in supplying various spin-offs and turn-key technologies to India armed forces and other nations.

To resolve the shortage of missiles faced by Indian armed forces, the government launched an Integrated Guided Ballistic Missile Development Program (IGMDP) in 1983 to develop a comprehensive range of missiles. Through this project, India could develop the following missiles, ‘PATNA’ (Prtihvi, Akash, Trishul, Nag and Agni) and it was declared to be over in the year 2012. Out of these five, only the Trishul missile project has been shut down completely. Prior to IGMDP, the other projects launched by DRDO were Project Indigo, Project Devil and Project Valiant.

PRITHVI

Under the IGMDP, the first missile to be developed was Prithvi I, II and III. It is road mobile, short range ballistic with three variants and is used as a surface interceptor. White it was formerly developed as a battlefield missile, the recent variants can also carry a nuclear warhead. Such short-range nuclear missiles are also recognized as tactical nuclear weapons.

Missile	Version	Distance	Warhead
Prithvi I	Army	150 km	1000 kg
Prithvi II	Airforce	250 km	500-1000 kg
Dhanush	(Naval variant of Prithvi II, under development)	250 km – 350 km	500 kg
Prithvi III	Navy	350 km	1000 kg

Prithvi has a strap-down inertial guidance system,13 and reportedly can be maneuvered by fins controlled by an on-board computer. The Circular Error Probable (CEP) of Prithvi is often given as 250 m without GPS and 75 m with GPS. The modeling of the missile suggests that this combination of ranges and payloads can be accommodated by one basic design, and that the two versions of Prithvi in fact use the same design with different warhead weights and thus different maximum ranges. However, the serial production of Prithvi (liquid fuel) was suspended in the year 1997 due to the following reasons.

·         Lack of adequate order and accuracy (measured by the term Circular Error Probability)

·         Changing warhead in Prithvi is difficult (particularly after 1998 nuclear tests)

·         Shortage of critical components

·         Very low production rate (less than 3 missiles per month)

·         Maintenance cost due to corrosion.

While the propellant mix is a highly guarded secret, it is believed that the liquid fuel in Prithvi consisted of 50% red fuming nitric acid + 50% combination of xylidine and thethylamine. This mixture is highly volatile, requires constant cooling and pumped at a very high pressure, which requires loading just prior to the launch. Owing to such maintenance issues, the army therefore rejected the same. This shows that, in the entire process of missile design and development, army is not integrated, and it stays only as a passive recipient. This goes against commonly expected scenario wherein we find a synergy amongst the makers, users and the strategists from the beginning. DRDO has usually attracted criticism from the army for overinflating their achievements regardless of the fact whether the missile is effective or not for the armed forces on ground zero.

The new version of Prithvi I containing Solid fuel is called Prahaar, and its export variant is called Pragati. The ship to ship variant or ship to surface variant of Prithvi III is called Dhanush. Prithvi also finds a place in India’ multilayered air defense system, one of which is called Pradyumma Ballistic Missile defense.

Prahaar has the capability to bridge the gap between multi barrel rockets system Pinaka and medium range ballistic missile Prithvi. It can also undertake numerous targets in multiple directions and is outfitted with modern navigation, inertial guidance and electromechanical actuation systems along with onboard sophisticated computer system. It is responsive, all weather, all terrain, extremely precise battleground support strategic weapon system.

AKASH

Akash is a medium range mobile surface to air defense system developed by DRDO, Ordnance Factories board and Bharat Electronics while private manufacturers Larsen & Toubro and Tata Power SED provide its tracked and wheeled launchers. It marks to be the most expensive missile project ever taken by the Indian government in the 20^th Century and its main features are as follows.

It can provide an air defense coverage for an area 2000 km². An Akash battery comprises four launchers with three missiles each, all of which are interlinked. This makes this missile system a perfect candidate for Ashwin air defense system.

·         Each missile battery is supported by a multi-function and multi-target 3D phased passive array fire control radar which is known as Rajendra which can guide eight missiles in total, with a maximum of two missiles per target. (produced by public-sector company Bharat Electronics Limited). Hence if one (or two) missile is allotted per target, up to a maximum of four targets can be engaged simultaneously by a typical battery with a single Rajendra.

Rajendra phased array radar rotates 360-degrees on a rotating turnstile at a moderate speed. This allows it to perform 360-degree surveillance. However, it is passive. (Passive radar needs a larger antenna and a transmitter to continue illuminating the target. This also increases the risk of the radar getting targeted by radar homing missiles.) The Army intends to use a Rajendra radar derivative in the artillery locating role. During tests at Chandipur for the Akash missile system, engineers noticed the Rajendra radar was able to detect and track artillery shells being test fired at a nearby range. This led to the development of the indigenous Weapon Locating Radar, called the BEL Weapon Locating Radar, an item in high demand by the Indian Army’s artillery units, especially after the Kargil War. Swathi is a coherent, C Band, passive electronically scanned phased array radar. Intended to be used as weapon locating radar, it has been designed to automatically detect and track incoming artillery rounds, mortar and rockets, and locate the hostile launchers. As a secondary function it can observe friendly artillery shell’s trajectory to see where they fall short and provide fire corrections to counter the enemy fire.

·         Every individual missile can travel at supersonic speeds around Mach 2.5 by virtue of ramjet propulsion system that enables sustained speeds without deceleration throughout its flight. The Missile has an on-board guidance system coupled with an actuator system that makes the missile maneuverable up to 15 G loads and a tail chase capability for end game engagement.

·         Its launch weight is 720 kg and carries a pre-fragmented 60 kg warhead which maybe either conventional or nuclear with a proximity fuse. (A proximity fuse detonates the explosive automatically when the distance to the target becomes smaller than a predetermined value. This makes the missile more lethal by 5 to 10 times).

·         Each individual missile can target a projectile upto 30 km away at altitudes as high as 18 km. However, it is getting replaced by a new version known as QRSAM (Quick reaction surface to air Missile) with the ability to strike more targets and equipped with electronic countermeasures.

QRSAM has two variants

1.    ‘Maitri’, co-developed with France

2.    SPYDER (Surface to air Python and Derby), co-developed with Israel.

The Akash launcher system can be mounted on a detachable trailer which is towed by a 4x4 Ashok Leyland or TATA truck, and which can be positioned autonomously. It can be also mounted also on a T-72 tracked MBT (Main Battle Tank) chassis.

A version of Akash missile system was also showed during a military parade in India mounted on a modified tracked chassis vehicle BMP-1.

In March 2015, the Indian Army has confirmed that the Akash missile system will enter in service with the Indian armed Forces. According the newspaper website Times of India, Indian Air Force has already begun to deploy six Akash missile squadrons in the north-east to counter China's build-up of military infrastructure all along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control (LAC), which includes eight fully operational airbases in Tibet.

INDIA’ BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE

India’ multilayered air defense includes the Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) missile for high altitude interception, the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) Missile for lower altitude interception and NASAM (currently being negotiated with US)

A common BMD needs a survey vehicle that can clear the launch site for firing, missile batteries, Transport erector launcher vehicles, Propellant tanker and a firing command post that transmits coordinates of the target.

A missile can be intercepted in either of these phases

1.    Terminal

2.    Midcourse (either endo or exo atmospheric)

3.    Boost phase

And it be countered using either of these technologies

·         Integrating design concepts for improved stealth

·         Cruise

·         Hypersonic

·         MIRVs

·         Inflight continuous maneuvering to avoid the interceptor

Does India have an MIRV? Answer is probably yes. Recently, ISRO displayed a splendid achievement by ejecting 124 satellites all through the same rocket. Since the technology for space/satellite launch and missile/ warhead are interconvertible, it is almost likely that ISRO will divert this technology to DRDO. Together, they can easily customize the same for launching multiple warheads all through the same missile/ rocket. This event is a source of prestige for India on the basis of which, India can claim a better place in arms control negotiation. Versions beyond Agni 3SL are assumed to carry MIRV.

MIRVs also carry decoys, chaff and components for jamming the radar of the enemy. Other than MIRVs, with improved stealth, warheads are now also used to directly attack the sensor system of the deployed BMD shield. India now possessing both the BMDs and the missile systems for attack, Pakistan perceives India’ BMD as provocative, meaning more tilted towards a subset of India’ offensive strategy than defensive.

NASAMS II (National Advanced Surface to Air Missile)

India is in negotiation with the United States for procuring NASAMS II, which is a superior air defense system at the outlay of $ 1 Billion for shielding National Capital Region from airborne attacks.

NASAMS-II is an upgraded version of the NASAMS developed by Raytheon in association with KONSBERG Defense and Aerospace and is operational since 2007.

It is equipped with radars of latest 3D mobile surveillance and 12 missile launchers for immediate reaction. NASAMS-II is extremely adjustable mid-range answer for any requirement of working air defense. It offers modern defense system which maximizes the capability for rapidly identifying, engaging and destroying recent and evolving enemy aircraft, UAV or emerging threats of cruise missile.

NASAMS-II is equipped with 3D sentinel radars, launchers, short and medium range missiles, centers of distribution and command and control units for rapidly detecting, tracking and shooting down multiple airborne threats. India’ acquisition of NASAMS-II will assist in preventing of 911 type of attack on NCR Delhi.

Full spectrum operations include both defensive (to prevent defeat) and offensive (that help to win the war). To protect the airspace, the ground infrastructure includes air surveillance systems and networked area defense while the air force undertakes ops that include precision attacks on key vulnerabilities inside enemy’ territory, paralyzing their systems, isolate their command and control structures, augmenting psychological warfare etc. In such a scenario, the Airforce squadron would include ·         Aerial defenses ·         Air to air and air to ground missiles ·         Fighter aircraft ·         Bombers ·         Strategic and heavy lift capabilities ·         Surveillance and Reconnaissance ·         Aerial refueling ·         Airports and airfields For e.g., if India were to attack upon Pakistan, the targets would be oil and gas installations, communication systems, ammunition dumps, railroad junctions, power stations etc. Apart from that the other targets would be its command and control systems, air defense radar, all the 17 air bases to cripple its air power and render its nuclear weapons delivery systems as ineffective. It is likely that nuclear powerhouses and installations won’t be targeted based on year 1988 agreement between India and Pakistan. India has stationed 6 units of C17 Globemaster at Panagarh in West Bengal (facing East) and 6 units at Hindon airforce base (facing West). India’ hard power has manifested itself in either of these forms ·         Deterrence wherein the country tries to compel the enemy that it is stronger and thereby dissuade the latter from pursuing a given policy. (for e.g. India’ BMD) ·         Armed intervention for e.g. Operation Polo, Operation Vijay, Operation Cactus (during 1988 Maldives coup d'état) and Flowers are Blooming (to help avert a threatened coup against the government of President France-Albert René in the Seychelles in 1986) ·         Showing the flag (India’s decision to airdrop supplies over Jaffna in the Sri Lankan Civil War) ·         Denial (destruction of critical infrastructure like roads, railways, airstrip etc. in 1971 Bangladesh Liberation war) ·         Economic strangulation and punishment through sanctions, blocking of supply lines and SLOCs etc. (not carried out yet) Based on these examples mentioned above, wouldn’t this be naïve to call India as the land of Gandhi?  In reality, dominating the neighbors and influencing events far from home is a part of India’ psyche. When we look at the history of ancient and medieval India, India has always been an expeditionary country until the Britishers colonized us and turned our great nation into an inward-looking country. ~Author

NAG

Nag is an indigenously built third generation Fire and Forget antitank missile. The three different types of guidance include a wire guided, an infrared and a millimeter wave version.

The missile has a weight of 42 kg and can engage targets at range of 4-5 km. The Nag is claimed to be the first anti-tank missile that has a complete fiberglass structure. The current version is equipped with a highly advanced imaging Infra-red seeker and has integrated avionics technology in its arsenal. By virtue of Infra-red, its range is limited, and success rate differs in summer and winter. It locks onto its target and is low, low complexity, point to shoot missile.

This missile can be launched from land and air-based platforms. The land version is available for integration with Nag Missile carrier (NAMICA) which is derived from BMP-2 tracked infantry combat vehicle. The helicopter launched configuration can be fired from Dhruv advanced light helicopter or HAL Rudra. This version is called as HeliNA or Helicopter NAG.

DRDO has also customized this missile system into Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) with a strike range of 2.5 km and weighs 15.5 kg for maintaining man portability. It can be fired from shoulder during day and night by infantry and parachute battalions.

AGNI

Agni series of missiles comprises five types as follows.

Agni-I	Single stage engine powered by Solid fuel Short range ballistic missile Coverage 700 km Payload capacity 1000 kg Army version is called Shaurya while Submarine version is called K15 Sagarika. Both are cannister launched and can travel at Mach 7.5.
Agni-II	Two stage solid propellant engine Medium range ballistic missile Coverage 2000 km Payload capacity 750 – 1000 kg
Agni-III	Two stage solid propellant engine Intermediate range ballistic missile Coverage 3000 km Payload capacity 2000 – 2500 kg
Agni-IV	Two stage solid propellant engine Intermediate range ballistic missile Coverage 4000 km Payload capacity 800 – 1000 kg
Agni-V	Powered by three stage solid all composite rocket motors Intercontinental Ballistic missile Coverage 5000-5500 km Maximum speed is Mach 24 Canister launch for quick response, higher reliability, longer shelf life, less maintenance and enhanced road mobility. Third stage is powered by a cryogenic engine, while other two are powered by solid propellants. Payload capacity 1500 kg (3 – 10 MIRV) It has been equipped with very high accuracy ring laser gyro based inertial navigation system (RINS) and a micro navigation system (MINS). K5 is alternate name of the version currently under development for Arihant Submarine
Agni-VI or Surya	Project is classified and therefore details are not available in public domain Range 8000 – 12000 km Payload capacity 1000 kg (10 MIRV) Third stage is powered by a cryogenic engine, while other two are powered by solid propellants.

All of them can carry a nuclear warhead or a highly explosive warhead or cluster munitions. Agni series use a gas generator to eject the missile from the cannister before its solid propellant motors take over to hurl it at the intended target.

Other Missiles developed after year 2008, when IGBMP was declared to be over

ASTRA

It is an all-weather, radar homing, indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range air to air missile, co-developed by DRDO and Indian air force. In an air to air combat scenario, the fighter plane’ radar will detect the enemy target and launch the Astra missile at a supersonic speed facilitated by a high energy propellant.

It is the smallest of all the missiles, developed by DRDO and uses a locally produced HTPB solid-fuel propellant. The warhead weighs 15kg and is of a high-explosive pre-fragmented type activated by a proximity fuse which is capable enough to destroy an enemy target. Astra uses a smokeless solid fueled motor that can propel the missile to a speed of Mach 4.5 and allows operation from a maximum altitude of 20 km. With four small tail fins and four long cruciform short-chord wings, it can engage maneuvering targets at forces equaling more than 40 G, at ranges up to 110 km in head-on mode (when the target is heading towards the missile) and 20 km in tail-chase mode (when the missile is chasing the target)

It uses an inertial guidance system driven by a fiber-optic gyroscope, while final, or terminal guidance is via an active radar homing seeker which has a range of 25km. This active radar seeker is locally manufactured and can lock on to targets of a 5 square-meter surface area from a distance of 15km.

The Astra operates in two modes — Lock-On Before Launch and Lock-On After Launch. It can achieve lock-on at targets that are up to 45 degrees off its central axis. The missile has an on-board anti-electronic counter-measures package that helps defeat ECM software used by modern aircraft.

BRAHMOS

Brahmos is a highly mobile, supersonic land attack cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircrafts or land. Its range is 300-500 km, codeveloped through a joint venture between DRDO and Russia’ NPO Mashinostroyeniya, known as BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.

India has helped in perfecting the navigation and guidance system on the existing platform developed by Russia’ NPO Mashinostroyeniya known as P-800 Oniks (also known in export markets as Yakhont). It is believed that Hezbollah and Iran have few units of Yakhont and they are trying to reverse engineer the same. The initial version of BrahMos had a speed of Mach 3 and range of 290 km which was later increased to 450 km. Already having the Oniks with similar speed and range, Russia did not felt the need to induct an altogether new missile in their arsenal, when they were developing hypersonic missiles. Russia, in 2017, tested the 3M22 Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic cruise missile. It is specifically an anti-ship cruise missile. It has a speed of Mach 6 and a range of around 800 km. With the speed of Mach 6, the Tsirkon (Zircon) can penetrate all the naval air defence systems in the world. Similarly, Russia has 9K720 Iskander short range ballistic missiles with speed of Mach 6 and range 500km. Russia recently in March 2018 tested Kh-47M2 Kinzhal, a hypersonic air launched cruise missile with a devastating speed of Mach 10 and astonishing range of 2000 km. It can even manoeuvre around potential air defence systems. So, Russia doesn’t need Brahmos. They have better options than India. Right?

The significant features of the BrahMos are as follows:

·         The acronym BrahMos is perceived as the confluence of the two nations represented by two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and Moskva of Russia.

·         It travels at speed of Mach 2.5-2.8 and is the world’ fastest cruise missile. It is about three and half times faster than US’ subsonic harpoon cruise missile.

·         It has the capability of attacking the surface targets as low as 10 m in altitude, can carry a nuclear or conventional warhead (of 200-400 kt yield) of 300kg and doesn’t possess any MIRV capabilities. With GPS, its CEP is found to be 1.5m. It is a multistage rocket and uses a solid propellant.

·         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 higher 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 Tomahawk.

·         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.

·         It 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 Su30 MKI as its carrier.

GPS acts like a digital glue for roads, railways, ports, telecommunication, industrial parks and other critical infrastructure. Just like we use highways to transport on land, the ocean has passageways also known as SLOCs. Similarly, the communication satellites are now becoming arteries or highways of world economy, wherein the data centers serve the purpose of check post and resting places. Does that mean, that China’ digital silk route aims to monopolize the 5th Industrial Revolution to itself so that all the countries start becoming economically dependent on it (core and periphery model)? This is pertaining to the fact that the Belt and Road Initiative is a global project and it covers all the terrains including physical and virtual. With increasing dependence on 5G and companies like Huawei, aren’t we empowering China gain asymmetric capabilities upon us? In case of emergency, they may use this to destroy our assets even before they can be used. This tactic is known as soft kill capabilities or otherwise as tools of asymmetric warfare. Other tools of asymmetric warfare include cyber, electronic and psychological.

SUDARSHAN

In order to occupy a niche in precision delivery mechanism, India’ first laser guided bomb, Sudarshan was developed. It is the latest weapon system and can fit to a 1000-pound gravity bomb. It uses lasers to guide it to the target with a CEP of less than 10 meters.

NIRBHAY

Nirbhay is an all-weather long-range subsonic cruise missile developed by Advanced Systems Laboratory. It can travel at Mach 0.6-0.8 and can carry a conventional or a nuclear warhead of 200-300 kg with a launch weight of 1500 kg. It has the ability to cruise at heights as low as 100 m and can be launched from air, sea and land. It is powered by a solid rocket motor booster and has a range of 1000 km.

MRSAM (Medium Range Surface to Air Missile)

It is a joint initiative by India and Israel involving DRDO, and private sector to develop a naval air defense system for India on the lines of LRSAM (Long range Surface to Air Missile) or Barak-8 naval air defense system. It can engage aerial targets at range of 50 km – 100 km.

PINAKA MRBL (Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher) system

It is a mobile weapon system characterized by the capability to deliver saturation fire over targets that cannot be engaged by artillery guns. The targets may include enemy troop concentration areas, communication centers, air terminal complexes, gun/rocket location and for laying mines. Its mark-I variant was used extensively during Kargil war.

It has a range of 40 km and has a capability of firing up to 12 rockets from a single battery mounted on an 8 x 8 truck within 44 seconds. The truck comes with NBC protection to shield itself from Nuclear, Chemical and Biological attacks.

It can launch a variety of warheads. The system has a quick reaction time, high accuracy and excellent mobile characteristics. It consists of a launcher rocket, replenishment cum loader vehicle and a command post vehicle.

It has two variants

Mark-I (40 km range)

Mark-II (75 km range)

Dhanush Gun

Also known as Desi Bofors and 155 mm artillery gun, it will be developed for the Indian army by DRDO to replace the older Howitzer guns.

Stealth Technology

This technology helps a plane or a projectile to avoid getting detected by radars.

Stealth technology aims at reducing all the signatures

1.    Thermal signature (to reduce detection in infra-red band)

2.    Acoustic signature (to reduce detection by the sound of the rotors and/or engines)

3.    Visible signature (by using camouflage)

4.    Radar signature (by reducing the radar cross section and detection through microwaves)

This can be achieved either by

1.    changing the geometry (also known as geometrical stealth)

or

2.    coating the object with Carbon composites material (which is a closely guarded secret) (also known as material stealth)

LCA Tejas uses geometrical stealth since India hasn’t gained enough maturity in decoding the material coating that can be used to reduce radar cross section. However, this technology can be defeated using quantum radar in which China is quickly gaining superiority.

Rustom-II

Rustom is a medium altitude long endurance drone (MALE) designed and developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment of DRDO, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Bharat Electronics. It can fly upto an altitude of 22,000 feet and can stay in flight for 20 hours.

It can carry a variety of payloads like Electronic Intelligence (ELINT), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Communication Intelligence (COMINT) and Situational Awareness Payloads (SAP) for performing missions even during the night. It will be used by all the three services of Indian armed forces primarily for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations. Rustom-II can fly on manual as well as autonomous modes.

It is well equipped with air to surface medium range missiles to destroy targets and advanced technologies including digital flight control, navigation system, automatic takeoff and landing etc.

Radars used by Indian military

Central Acquisition Radar (3D-CAR) : It is a 3D ground based air surveillance S-Band Radar developed by DRDO for Indian Army and Indian Air Force. Army uses Rohini variant while Air Force uses Revathi variant. It is capable of handling multiple targets simultaneously and also precisely calculate the height at which projectiles are flying. Mounted on Tatra mobile platform, a heavy duty modified truck built by the public sector Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and supported by an auxiliary mobile power unit, it enables the Rohini to be easily transported to the battlefront. Operating in a range of up to 170 kilometers and an altitude of 15 kilometers, the Rohini radar can track multiple targets like fighter jets and missiles travelling at supersonic speeds of over 3,000 kms per hour. The radar employs an array of Electronic Counter Counter Measure (ECCM) features including frequency agility and jammer analysis. A Secondary Surveillance Radar, IFF, is integrated with the primary radar Rohini, which distinguishes friendly and hostile aircraft. About 100 pieces are expected to be built, with around 20 radars being manufactured every year.

Indra radar : The Indian Doppler Radar (INDRA) series of 2D radars were developed by India's DRDO for the Army and Air Force. The INDRA-I is a is a mobile surveillance radar for low level target detection while the INDRA-II is for ground-controlled interception of targets.

INDRA-I is a 2D mobile surveillance radar for low level target detection. The radar is housed in two wheeled vehicles. Some of the main features are automated Track While Scan (TWS), integrated IFF and high scan rate for high speed target detection. The radar is produced by Bharat Electronics Limited and inducted into service. The INDRA-I was a landmark project for the DRDO, as it was the first large radar system designed by the organization and produced in number for the defense forces. The Indian Air Force operates thirty INDRA-I's whereas the Indian Army also has several.

INDRA-II is a variant of INDRA radar for ground-controlled interception of targets. The radar uses pulse compression for detection of low flying aircraft in heavy ground clutter with high range resolution and ECCM capabilities. The radar has been produced by Bharat Electronics Limited and is used by Indian Air Force and Army. Seven INDRA-IIs have been ordered by the Indian Air Force.

Ashwini Radar : It is a 4D Low Level Transportable Radar and is developed to track hostile targets with foolproof accuracy. It can detect high-speed and maneuverable targets up to a range of 200 kilometers. It is an active phased array and is easily transportable.

Arudhra Radar : It is a Medium Power Radar (MPR) and is an active phased array multifunction 4D radar capable of automatic detection and tracking of aerial targets ranging from fighter aircrafts to slow moving targets. It features 2D Digital Beamforming, Time synchronization of multiple receivers, Critical real-time software and firmware and DBF based active array calibration.

PJT-531 Battle Field Surveillance Radar : It is a man portable 2D short-range battlefield and perimeter surveillance radar. This radar has been a boon to Indian forces at LOC. It is used by Indian Army and BSF along with foreign customers like Indonesia and Sudan. It operates in J Band in 21 frequencies, and can detect crawling men, group of men, Armored Vehicles and Heavy Vehicles at varying distance.

Swordfish radar : It is an Indian Long range tracking radar specifically developed to counter ballistic missile threat. It will be a part of India's ballistic missile program. First testing of this radar was in March 2009. Main aim of the test was to validate the capabilities of the indigenously developed Swordfish Long Range Tracking Radar (LRTR). "The missile to be hit will be fired from a longer distance than it was in the earlier test. DRDO tested whether the radar could track the incoming missile from that distance or not" said a member of the project.

Swordfish is an acknowledged derivative of the Israeli Green Pine long range radar, which is the critical component of that country's Arrow missile defense system. However, it differs from the Israeli system as it employs Indian Transmit Receive modules, signal processing, computers and power supplies. It is also more powerful than the base Green Pine system and was developed to meet India's specific BMD needs.

Aerostat Radar : The aerostats are large fabric envelopes filled with helium, and can rise up to an altitude of 15,000 feet (4,600 m) while tethered by a single cable. The largest lifts a 1000 kg payload to an operating altitude providing low-level, downward-looking radar coverage. India has recently acquired few of these Aerostat radars from US. The entire system is divided in major parts. Firstly, the aerostat balloon which has been acquired from Israel and second part is the payload on board the balloon which consists, advanced programmable radar (APR), Electronic Intelligence (ELINT), Communication Intelligence (COMINT) and V/UHF radio telephony equipment and Identification Friend or Foe (IFF). It has the capability to be integrated with AWACS and ground air defense environment and function as a command and control center. Depending upon the payload the tethered balloon can be raised to the height between 10000 feet to 16000 feet.

The system gives a seamless radar cover of 300 km plus at low level along with good RT range and requisite ELINT. The system could be termed as static AWACS. Off course it comes with some vulnerabilities and limitations, like weather, wind speeds, lightning & thunder, launch & recovery periods are vulnerabilities. Its virtues also make it a prime target for enemy therefore it needs to be protected by exclusive air defense weapons. But we hope that the advantages of such system would outlast the limitations.

Electronic warfare capabilities include both C4ISR and soft kill capabilities. Recently, India has signed BECA and COMCASA for Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) with USA. BECA will help India augment real time tracking and targeting capabilities (C4ISR) and improve situational awareness. However, this requires integration of information with other platforms including the ones of Russian origin to increase the speed of response. India also needs to scale up its own network support system to gain full advantage of the same. If India can do this, this will lead India to become a more capable member of Pacific Seniors currently recognized as the Five Eyes Signal Intelligence. Other agreements include LEMOA that will help India improve the scope of interoperability on American made platforms owned by the QUAD countries (which is considered as a loose coalition of democracies) which can be used as a force multiplier against China. However, to do that, India will need to purchase more US made fighters both for combat and training. Other agreement believed to be in pipeline include arrangements for space defense and cyber defense, which are upcoming terrains of warfare. In future, this may also pave the way for agreement on 5th generation fighter aircraft. Other advantages of LEMOA include ·         open up new and/or accommodate itself in the existing forward basing arrangements in West Asia. ·         extend India’ reach in improving response to events involving humanitarian disaster at places far from home. When it comes to interoperability, the navy scores better than Army and Airforce. This is based on both the quality and quantity of assets owned by this group of armed forces. This gels perfectly well with the recent armed forces doctrine of India, that clearly mentions that they need to operate outside India and South Asia.