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C O N T E N T S1(51).2010
Director GeneralEvgeny Osipov
Deputy Director GeneralVyacheslav Schesnovich
Executive DirectorOleg Perevoschikov
Marketing DirectorAlexander Kiryanov
Commercial DirectorMikhail Baydak
Executive EditorAlexey Makurin
Production EditorEduard Voytenko
EditorsAlexander VelovichAlexander GudkoSvetlana KomagorovaYaroslav Parkhomenko
Marketing ManagerDmitry KuprinYana Zhvirbo
Art DirectorAlvina Kirillova
DesignersAlexander CheredaykoAlexander StrelyaevElena Shishova
IT ManagerPavel Chernyak
Photos and graphics in this issue:Vladimir Scherbakov, Marina Lystseva, Alexey Mikheev, Vitaly Kuzmin, NTV channel, "Sukhoi", JSC Ship-building Yard "Severnaya Verf", KBP Instrument Design Bureau
Circulation: 8000
The magazine is registered in the Committee for Press of the Russian Federation. Certificate № 016692 as of 20.10.1997. Certificate № 77-15450 as of 19.05.2003.
Any material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the pub-lisher. The editorial staff’s opinion does not necessarily coincide with that of the authors. Advertisers bear re-sponsibility for the content of provided materials.
ARMS, 2010ADDRESSP.O. Box 77, Moscow, 125057, RussiaTel.: + 7 495 626-52-11Fax.: + 7 499 151-61-50E-mail: af@airfleet.ru
Office 1V, 2/6, Moskovsky prospect,Saint Petersburg, 190031, RussiaTel./fax: +7 812 310-61-46E-mail: arsenal@msk2.da.ru
AIR DEFENCE
8 Missiles
over Hindustan
LAND FORCES
24 KBP-designed
modernized fight-
ing compartment
of the BMP-2 —
an efficient way
of upgrading
armoured vehicles
NAVY
6 OPK and new directions
in MTC
MARKETS
28 India’s Armed Forces’
weapons modernisa-
tion programmes
in 2009
MILITARY AVIATION
2 Russian arms exports
on the rise
COOPERATIONS
4 Sukhoi PAK FA:
first flight
COOPERATIONS
2 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
AIRCRAFT TOP THE LIST
Military aircraft have been best
sellers in the recent years, account-
ing for 50% of all exports in 2009.
According to Rosoboronexport,
Army, Air Defense and Navy weap-
onry made up 19%, 13% and 13.7%
of the sales, respectively. All the oth-
er weaponry types accounted for
the remaining 4% of the total figure.
Rosoboronexport spokes-
men have repeatedly stated that
the Russian-made Air Defense sys-
tems, especially the S-300 and
the new S-400 Triumf, are in high
demand. Anatoly Isaikin stated
that Russia will begin foreign sales
of S-400s only after it supplies its
own forces with the required num-
ber of such systems. Nevertheless,
Rosoboronexport head says that
“preparatory negotiations are un-
der way”, which has already result-
ed in setting of preliminary terms
for potential deliveries. “Such de-
liveries, however, are not going
to take place neither in the com-
ing months nor the next year”, Mr
Isaikin highlighted.
The S-400 air defense missile sys-
tem was designed to engage aer-
ial targets including aircraft, UAVs
and cruise missiles both in the air
and in the outer space as well as
to carry out non-strategic missile
defense missions. The new Triumf
system, meant to replace the S-200
and S-300, has an improved capa-
bility to destroy new types of aer-
ial targets, including Stealth air-
craft, small-sized cruise missiles
and ballistic missiles with a range
within 3,500 km and a speed of up
to 4.8 km per second.
THE UNIQUE FIGHTING VEHICLE
Rosoboronexport sees the Tank
Support Fighting Vehicle (BMPT) as
RUSSIAN ARMS EXPORTS ON THE RISE
In 2009, Russia sold abroad $7.4 billion worth of military equipment and technology, a figure 10% high-
er compared to that in 2008. The growth trend is expected to persist in 2010 as well, as the contract
portfolio for the next few years currently exceeds $34 billion. In 2009 alone, Russia signed $15 billion
worth of arms contracts, Anatoly Isaikin, head of Russia’s exclusive arms trader Rosoboronexport, said
at a news conference on January 28.
COOPERATIONS
1(51).2010 ● 3
a promising item for the interna-
tional arms market, among other ad-
vanced programs. Mr Isaikin called
the vehicle unique, saying “I know
of no other country operating a sim-
ilar piece of equipment”. The ve-
hicle has high firepower and of-
fers excellent protection against an-
titank weapons, Rosoboronexport
CEO added.
Despite its incredible perfor-
mance, the BMPT hasn’t been ad-
opted by the Russian Armed Forces
so far. The vehicle, built on the T-90
MBT chassis, is fitted with a dual
30mm automatic cannon, four AT
guided missile launchers, a heavy
machine gun and two automatic
grenade launchers. The BMPT is ca-
pable of engaging targets at a dis-
tance of up to 5 km as well as wiping
the enemy off the surrounding area
with a radius of up to 3 km by firing
its guns and grenade launchers.
The vehicle can simultaneously
track and engage 5 ground targets,
while featuring an improved armor
compared to a tank.
INDIA: A MAJOR PARTNER
The main buyers of Russian arms
and equipment are India. Algeria,
China, Venezuela, Malaysia and Syria.
In the near future, India is going
to remain Russia’s top military-tech-
nical partner thanks to both the cur-
rently effective and future deals in-
cluding a tender for 126 fighter air-
craft for the Indian Air Force.
Rosoboronexport CEO is sure that
the Russian-offered Mikoyan MiG-35
is destined to win the Indian tender.
“By now, the competition is in its mid-
term, but no contender has quit so
far. Let the best aircraft win the race.
We are sure our MiG will make it, as
it meets all the requirements set
forward by the Indian Air Force”,
Anatoly Isaikin said.
The MiG-35 belongs to a new uni-
fied combat aircraft family along-
side with the MiG-29K/MiG-29KUB
sea-borne fighters and MiG-29M/
M2 multirole tactical fighters.
The Medium Multi-Role Combat
Aircraft (MMRCA) tender for 126
fighters was announced in August
2007 and obliges the winner com-
pany to supply the Indian Air Force
with 18 ready-built aircraft, with
the rest of the fighters to be lin-
cense-produced by HAL enterpris-
es in India.
According to Indian sourc-
es, the deal will total Rs 420 billion
(over $10 billion). The Russian MiG-
35 is rivaled by the Rafale offered by
France’s Dassault Aviation, Gripen
by Sweden’s SAAB, U.S. Boeing F/A-
18 and Lockheed Martin F-16, and
the Eurofighter Typhoon made
by EADS.
Rosoboronexport CEO also men-
tioned that an additional agreement
will be signed soon to upgrade
the Admiral Gorshkov heavy aircraft
carrying cruiser for India. The con-
tract needs a little more time to be
finalized and stipulates the amount
of work and the price. Anatoly
Isaikin said the deal is a complex
task for the Russian shipbuilding
industry which is new to produc-
ing air carrying ships. In the past,
all vessels of this class were built
in Nikolayev, Ukraine. “We are ab-
solutely new to such work. Only
the hull will remain the same. We
are going to make a totally new air
carrier out of it following the cus-
tomer’s preferences”, he concluded.
The over $1.5 billion contract
to modernize the cruiser which had
been sold to India, was signed back
in 2004. Initially, the Indian Navy ex-
pected to receive the ship in 2008,
but delivery was later shifted to 2010
after the required amount of work
had grown.
As for China, Rosoboronexport
expects lower sales to this country
in the future. “That is quite natural.
China’s defense industry is develop-
ing rapidly”, Anatoly Isaikin noticed,
adding that China’s share in Russian
defense exports had gone down
to 18% in 2009 and could drop fur-
ther to as low as 15%.
ARMS FOR NATO AND ARAB
NATIONS
Russia is negotiating possible
supplies of a variety of wepons
to NATO countries, Anatoly Isaikin
said, omitting the countries’ names
and delivery terms, though. He
mentioned, however, that Russian-
made arms are still sold to Greece,
Turkey and East European coun-
tries. The latter, however, account
for upgrade and repair deals for
USSR-supplied equipment rather
than sales.
According to Mr Isaikin, Ros obo-
ron export is prepared to supply
weaponry to Iraq and Afghanistan
provided that the U.S. gives its con-
sent. Military-technical cooperation
with Arab nations, including Lybia
and Bahrain, also offers Russia favor-
able prospects.
WAY IS FREE FOR PARTNERSHIP
WITH IRAN
Iran-related issues, which
keep topping the global political
news, weren’t left out by Anatoly
Isaikin during his news confer-
ence, as the Middle Eastern coun-
try is known to be willing to buy
S-300 air defense systems from
Russia. Although the deal to sup-
ply Iran with S-300s was signed
in December 2005, no formal an-
nouncements have yet been made
on the execution of the contract.
The Rosoboronexport CEO poin-
ted out that Iran is not subject
to the UN arms embargo. “Nothing
is standing in the way of further mil-
itary-technical cooperation between
Russia and Iran”, Mr Isaikin said, add-
ing that Iran had never violated its
commitments.
Anatoly Isaikin also gave a sep-
arate comment on the incident in-
volving the Russian Sukhoi Su-27
fighter which failed to arrive in time
at an air show in Bahrain last January,
as it hadn’t been permitted to fly
over Iran. “There was a bureaucrat-
ic glitch. The Iranian ground control
didn’t receive a timely permit from
the authorities to allow the flight”,
Mr Isaikin explained.
The Russian Su-27 was due to ar-
rive in Bahrain for an internation-
al airshow scheduled for January 19.
The fighter was initially supposed
to fly through the Iranian airspace,
but the country’s authorities re-
fused to grant a pass. Intermediation
of the two countries’ foreign minis-
tries, however, had helped resolve
the situation, allowing the aircraft
to finally make its way to Bahrain
on January 20. According to Anatoly
Isaikin, the Iranian government apol-
ogized for the incident after the con-
troversy had been settled.
MILITARY AVIATION
4 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
SUKHOI PAK FA:FIRST FLIGHT
n 29 January Sukhoi
PAK FA (Advanced
Aviation System of Tac-
tical Avaition), also
know as the T-50, per-
formed its maiden flight from the
airfield of Komsomolsk-on-Amur
Aircraft Production Plant (KnAAPO)
in the Russian Far East.
Sukhoi director general Mikhail
Pogosyan commented: "Today we
have started the flight test pro-
gramme of the 5th generation
[fighter] aircraft. This is a big suc-
cess of Russia's science and design-
er's thought. This achievement was
made possible by industrial co-op-
eration of more than a hundred en-
terprises. The PAK FA programme
advances Russia's aircraft and co-
operating industries to the new lev-
el of technological quality. These
aircraft, alongside with modernised
aviation systems of the forth gener-
ation will determine the capabilities
of the Russian Air Force in the com-
ing decades. Sukhoi company plans
further development of the PAK FA
programme together with Indian
partners. I am confident that our
joint project will outperform west-
ern competitors by efficiency-to-
cost criteria, and not only will allow
to strengthen the defence might
of Russia and India, but will take
a decent place on the world market".
The first flight of the new fight-
er lasted for 47 minutes with Sukhoi
test pilot Sergey Bogdan at the con-
trols and was declared a complete
success. Bogdan shared his impres-
sions of the first flight: "We have
made initial evaluation of the air-
craft's controllability, engine oper-
ations and functioning of the main
systems. The standard procedure
of landing gear retraction/exten-
sion was performed. The aircraft
showed itself favourably at all phas-
es of the planned flight programme.
It is easy and comfortable to control".
The flight test are anticipated to take
about five-six years.
Ph
oto
by
NT
V c
han
nel
Ph
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by
"Su
kho
i"
O
6 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
nited Industrial Cor po-
ration (ОPK) compris-
es JSC Ship-building
Yard “Severnaya Verf”,
the largest Russian en-
terprise on the construction of sur-
face ships. For the period of almost
100-year service in the RF Navy,
“Severnaya Verf” has constructed
more than 200 combat ships, with
total draught exceeding 500’000
tons. In the present day the yard
performs the major delivery scope
of surface ships (corvette and frig-
ate class) upon the State Defence
Order for the RF Navy, it is a usu-
al participant of Military-Technical
Cooperation (MTC). For the last
years, OPK yards have exported ships
in China (pr.956E, 956EM) and India
(pr.1135.6).
Generally, the yard performs the
repair operations of ships being pre-
viously constructed at it. Among
them the special place is taken by
yacht “Rossia” of Administrative
Department of the President
of the Russian Federation (2002).
At the present moment, the yard
is completing the repair operations
of frigate “Vice Admiral Kulakov” be-
ing a part of the Northern Fleet.
The yard has experienced in re-
pair of ships being constructed at
the other yards, among which is a fa-
mous cruiser “Avrora” (1984-87). It al-
lows the yard to take a new MTC pro-
duction sphere in naval engineer-
ing — repair and modernization.
For many years patrol ships of
pr. 1159Т (frigate “Koni 2” — as per
NATO classification) are flagman
ships and small-size missile boats
pr.1234Ye (corvette “Nanucka 2” —
per NATO classification) are ma-
jor impact of three groups (Fleets)
of Democratic People's Republic
of Algeria (DPRA), located along the
coast of the Mediterranean Sea. With
its draught, ships are provided with
high levels of propulsion and sea-
keeping characteristics, balanced
systems of multipurpose weapon.
Taking into account high mili-
tary characteristics and moderniza-
tion capabilities of ships, DPRA Naval
Command favours to perform ex-
pensive repair and modernization in-
stead of purchasing of new ships.
To implement the Contract with
DPRA, JSC SBY “Severnaya Verf” was
the first yard in ship-building indus-
try, that has performed a complex of
OPK AND NEW DIRECTIONS IN MTCU
Corvette p-1234Е before repairing
Andrey Fomichev
NAVY
NAVY
1(51).2010 ● 7
operations upon the creation of sys-
tem of organization and design-en-
gineering support based on CALS-
technology (Continuous Acquisition
and Life cycle Support). Electronic
models of ships, being constructed
almost thirty years ago, and subject-
ed to repair, allow to perform the fol-
lowing:
– perform fair Damage Survey and
describe the ship state per com-
partments;
– enter the repair process in Com-
mon Electronic Informational
Space of Yard;
– create 3D-model of hull, which
provides possibility to develop
separate hull sections, subjected
to replacement assembled;
– optimize processes of costs and
components purchase manage-
ment;
– organize the integrations of all
participants (Client — Designer —
Yard — Components Suppliers —
Operation and Disposition) of Life
Cycle of Article having passed
modernization-recovery repair,
and having been not accompa-
nied with electronic documenta-
tion yet, in Information Space ON-
line. This let shift the ships opera-
tion to the state-of art and satisfy
Client’s perspective requirements.
For the first time in the ship-
building industry, at the absence
of mould loft data (in particular per
stabilizers bays and propeller shaft
boss), “re-engineering” operations
have been performed with appli-
cation of laser scanners and follow-
ing 3D-modelling. Basing on the re-
ceived data, tasks of cutting of plates
to be replaced have been integrated
in the Yard Management Common
System as well as plates bending
means have been developed.
The above mentioned became
possible due to the long-term sched-
uled integration of digital intellectu-
al technologies into the production
process.
Formation of the modern repair
system has required taking the de-
cisions upon the complex of process
and metallurgical tasks:
– for the first time in native ship-build-
ing industry, progressive gauges
have been purchased, implement-
ed and utilized. They are used to
inspect the thickness of hull metal
without painting removing that al-
lows to increase the damage survey
quality and respectively, the repair
process itself due to the increasing
of measuring points number with-
out mechanical grinding;
– pipes cleaning process has been
greatly changed;
– decision has been taken up-
on the repair of coupling points
of steel hull and light-alloy su-
perstructure under the conditions
of significant corrosion and wear-
ing of metal.
Providing the repair quality level,
which corresponds to the world one,
increasing of labour efficiency and
correspondingly, competitive price,
JSC SBY “Severnaya Verf” for sure
takes a new sphere in surface ship-
building: repair and modernization
of previously exported naval engi-
neering of any production.
At the present moment, first
two ships of projects 1159Т and
1234Ye are on sea trials, repair
of another two ships is proceed-
ed. Together with FSI Ros obo-
ronexport the yard is now review-
ing the possibility to negotiate
new contracts.
P-901 before repairing
P-901 after repairing
Cruiser Aurora
AIR DEFENCE
8 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
MISSILESOVER HINDUSTANThe international community has always marvelled at the ener-The international community has always marvelled at the ener-
gy with which Indian scientists, software and hardware experts gy with which Indian scientists, software and hardware experts
in weapons systems have been moving on, overtaking and some-in weapons systems have been moving on, overtaking and some-
times even surpassing achievements of the leading world powers. times even surpassing achievements of the leading world powers.
This is well illustrated by the indigenously developed nuclear weap-This is well illustrated by the indigenously developed nuclear weap-
ons and rather modern rocket industry. The majority of missile-ons and rather modern rocket industry. The majority of missile-
related projects for the Ministry of Defence of India are run under related projects for the Ministry of Defence of India are run under
the so called Integrated Guided Missile Development Program the so called Integrated Guided Missile Development Program
focused on the development and series production of several mis-focused on the development and series production of several mis-
sile weapon types including various-range ballistic missiles.sile weapon types including various-range ballistic missiles.
AIR DEFENCE
1(51).2010 ● 9
Vladimir Sherbakov
AIR DEFENCE
10 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
INTEGRATED GUIDED MISSILE
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
The Integrated Guided Missile
Development Program (IGMDP) is
believed to have commenced of-
ficially in 1983. The then military
and political leadership of India set
as its main objective the develop-
ment of the national rocket indus-
try to a level where the principle
of self-reliance would be realisable.
Moreover, experience to be gained
during implementation of that pro-
gramme could be utilised when
developing other types of missile
weapon systems.
At the present time the Integrated
Guided Missile Development
Program encompasses five proj-
ects: — strategic missile systems
armed with the Agni-family inter-
mediate-range ballistic missiles and
their modifications; — tactical/the-
atre missile systems armed with
the Prithvi-family short-range bal-
listic missiles and their modifica-
tions; — air defence missile systems
armed with the Akash and Trishul
surface-to-air guided missiles; —
antitank guided weapon system
armed with the Nag guided mis-
sile. Sometimes the BrahMos mis-
sile system is also included into this
Program, which is incorrect since
its development has been started
much later within the framework of a
joint Indo-Russian programme ex-
ecuted by the BrahMos Aerospace
Limited co-founded by the Russian
Military Industrial Corporation
“NPO Mashinostroyenia” based
near Moscow and Indian Ministry
of Defence’s DRDO (Defence
Re search and Development
Organisation). The Integrated Guided
Missile Development Program has
been lately complemented with
the Astra air-to-air guided missile de-
velopment project as well.
It should be noted here that
Delhi was virtually forced into the re-
alisation of the above Program
by the then policy of a number
of Western countries attempting
to restrict weapons upgrading by
armies in most advanced so-called
“third-world” countries by introduc-
ing the Missile Technology Control
Regime (MTCR). In addition, after
testing its nuclear charge on 18 May
1974 India was submitted to a num-
ber of sanctions which further ham-
pered the development of combat
missile systems.
The IGMDP main provisions
were prepared by Dr. Abdul Kalam,
the then head of the Defence
Research and Development
Laboratory (DRDL) in Hyderabad, lat-
er elected President of India, com-
monly named ever since “the fa-
ther of India’s missile programme. It
took six months for Dr. Abdul Kalam
and his DRDL colleagues to sort
out all those issues with the as-
sistance of the scientific advisor
to the Minister of Defence and DRDO
head Dr. V.S. Arunchalam. On com-
pleting their work they reported its
results to the Minister of Defence
and Prime Minister of India.
It is interesting enough that in the
beginning there was no mention-
ing of a single programme: devel-
opment of missile systems armed
with the Nag antitank guided mis-
sile, Akash and Trishul surface-to-
air missiles as well as Prithvi and
Indian carrier rockets
AIR DEFENCE
1(51).2010 ● 11
Agni ballistic missiles was planned
as a row of unrelated projects im-
plemented consecutively one af-
ter another. However, Minister
of Defence R. Venkataraman insisted
that Dr. Kalam and Dr. Arunchalam
combined all those projects in-
to the unique Integrated Program.
The Program officially started
on 27 July 1983.
A special board headed by Dr.
Abdul Kalam was set up to man-
age practical implementation of the
Integrated Program. Dr. Kalam also
delegated sufficient authority to five
project directors for executive and
financial activities, leaving to himself
only the most important issues such
as contacts with more than two doz-
ens of subcontractors. Dr. Kalam’s
popularity grew with the emergence
of new missiles, which finally culmi-
nated in his victory at the elections
of the President of India.
This article treats only those
missile systems that are based
on the various-purpose Agni/Prithvi-
family ballistic missiles.
PRITHVI MISSILE SYSTEM
The Prithvi (Sanskrit for “Earth”)
missile is a single-stage short-range
ground-to-ground ballistic mis-
sile. Indian missile experts derived
their designs from the second-stage
engine of the surface-to-air mis-
sile for the Soviet S-75 Dvina air de-
fence missile system, as well as rock-
et engines designed earlier by India
under the Devil and Valiant proj-
ects (the Devil project was intend-
ed to develop an indigenous liquid-
propellant rocket engine drawing
on the analysis of similar Soviet guid-
ed missiles, whereas the Valiant proj-
ect was dedicated to the develop-
ment of a multi-stage strategic ballis-
tic missile). At the present time there
are two variants of the Prithvi missile:
one with a shorter-range but heavier
payload, and the other with a great-
er-range but lower-weight warhead.
In all other respects the two variants
are virtually identical. The modifica-
tions are designated “Prithvi I” and
“Prithvi II” correspondingly.
The Prithvi ballistic missile is a sin-
gle-stage liquid-propellant monob-
lock with a single warhead and an in-
ertial navigation and terminal guid-
Prithvi II ballistic mis-sile mobile launcher
AIR DEFENCE
12 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
ance system. Structurally the missile
has a cylindrical body with a cone-
shaped head, a cruciform wing in the
middle part and four smaller con-
trol/correction surfaces in the tail
end of the missile. The missile body
is made of aluminium alloys, and is
covered with radio-absorbing mate-
rials. The missile propulsion unit is
composed of two liquid-propellant
engines, and its fuel tank is made
of aluminium alloys as well. The en-
gine uses a mixture of the inhibited
red fuming nitric acid as an oxidiser,
and a compound fuel made of xyli-
dene (50%) and triethylamine (50%).
Nnormally Tthe missile is fuelled im-
mediately before the launch, since
fuelled missile can be stored for a few
months only. Thanks to the large-ar-
ea wing, the Prithvi missile is capa-
ble of performing manoeuvres at the
terminal flight leg to correct its tra-
jectory and penetrate enemy anti-
ballistic missile defence.
Basic specifications of the Prithvi-
family missiles are as follows: mis-
sile length — 8.55 m (Prithvi I) or 9.0
(Prithvi II), wing span — 2.6 m, launch
weight — about 4,000 kg, minimum
launch range — 40 km, maximum
launch range — 150 km (Prithvi I with
a 1,000-kg warhead) and 250 km
(Prithvi II). Some Indian media have
reported that the Prithvi I missile car-
rying a 250-kg warhead might be
launched at a range as great as 500
km — yet it seems hardly probable.
The missile’s circular error prob-
ability (CEP) does not exceed 0.1%
of the launch range, that is the CEP
at the maximum range would make
250 m (even though some Indian
sources suggest that the CEP could
be as little as 0.01% of the launch
range, in our opinion it does not
seem realistic). The missile is
equipped with an inertial guidance
system. The Prithvi developers de-
clare that during the pre-flight prep-
aration up to six waypoints at the ter-
minal trajectory leg can be uploaded
into the onboard mission comput-
er. It is believed that this procedure
must increase probability of pene-
tration by the missile of enemy anti-
ballistic missile defence, which is fur-
ther improved by applying a special
radio-absorbing coating on the mis-
sile body surface (the missile’s ca-
pability for en route manoeuvring
is equally dubious). It is further af-
firmed that the onboard guidance
system can correct the missile flight
trajectory within 15 degrees. The lat-
est missile modifications are also
equipped with satellite navigation
system receivers: some experts be-
lieve this to be the reason why India
has agreed on a broader coopera-
tion with Russia within the GLONASS
programme. The missile onboard
computer is based on a dual-proces-
sor principle.
The missile warhead weighs
1,000 kg (Prithvi I) or 500 kg (Prithvi II).
It can be either conventional explo-
sive or tactical nuclear Plutonium-
based charge with a 12–15-kilotonne
equivalent. The Prithvi ballistic mis-
sile can be armed with different
types of conventional warheads in-
cluding a high explosive fragmenta-
tion warhead with preformed strik-
ing elements (it provides kill radius
of 250 m against soft-skinned targets,
such as positions of missile launch-
ers and radars, as well as concentra-
tions of manpower or war materiel),
an incendiary warhead (with kill ra-
dius of up to 500 m), a cluster war-
head loaded with bomblets or mines,
a fuel-air explosive (volumetric) war-
head, and a runway/airfield facili-
ties buster warhead (this warhead
can damage a runway made of the
LNC60 grade concrete on an area
of up to 40–60-sq.m.). After com-
pletion of the nuclear tests in May
1998 Dr. Kalam, then DRDO head
and scientific advisor to the Minister
of Defence, made public the fea-
Dhanush sea-launched bal-listic missile
Dhanush ballistic missile in the assembly shopDhanush ballistic missile in the assembly shop
AIR DEFENCE
1(51).2010 ● 13
sibility of arming the missile with
a nuclear charge. It is thought that
since 1997 up to 20 nuclear charg-
es for the Prithvi I ballistic missile
have been produced, and starting
from 1999 up to 10 nuclear charges
for the Prithvi II ballistic missile.
The missile launcher is mounted
on the Tatra ‘Kolos’ 4x4 all-terrain
truck. Immediately prior to launch
the launcher with the loaded mis-
sile is separated from the truck
and is stabilised on the launch pad.
The Kolos transporter-launcher ve-
hicle has the following specifica-
tions: empty weight — 13,800 kg,
length — 8.8 m, width — 2.5 m,
height (at cabin) — 2.69 m, road
clearance — 425 mm, engine —
250-hp 12-cylinder Tatra T-930-3
diesel, maximum speed — 80 km/h,
fuel tank capacity — 520 l, negoti-
ated obstacles — vertical wall up
to 0.6 m high, water crossing up
to 1.4 m deep, slope — up to 30°,
cabin — equipped with the NBC
protection system.
The Prithvi ballistic missile devel-
opment project was the first one
to start in 1983 under the Integrated
Program umbrella. The Prithvi I
ground trials began in 1987 and
the first test flight took place
at Sriharikota on 25 February 1988.
The Prithvi II missile was first launched
at the Interim Test Range in Balasore
on 27 January 1996. The Prithvi bal-
listic missile was the first guided mis-
sile successfully developed and pro-
duced in series by India’s own effort.
As a matter of fact, liquid-fuel modi-
fications of the missile have a typical
drawback: they must be loaded with
fuel immediately prior to launch. This
routine can pose certain problems
in field conditions, and seriously de-
grades the system’s combat potential.
The Prithvi ballistic missile system
was demonstrated for the first time
at the military parade in commem-
oration of the Republic Day of India
on 26 January 1994
It was initially planned that
the Prithvi I ballistic missile system
would enter service with the Indian
Army by 1990. However, owing
to delays in the missile development
and a number of test launch failures
it was only in the middle of 1994
that the series production started,
and the missile system was then in-
ducted for trial operation. Seven test
launches had been made by that
time, and in 1994 a few more mis-
siles were test fired by Indian Army
combat crews (that June the Prithvi
ballistic missile was launched from
Chandipur missile range against
the firing ground on Wheeler Island
at a range of some 80 km). After
a number of successful test launch-
es the developer/manufacturer was
awarded the Indian Army’s con-
tract for the delivery of six missile
systems with the follow-up for 75
more missiles. The first-batch 20
missiles were delivered to the cus-
tomer by October 1995 and were
used to arm the 333rd Missile Group
permanently established in the city
of Secunderabad.
Bhabha Atomic Research Center
is situated in the city of Trombay,
major center of atomic, oil-refining,
petrochemical and chemical indus-
tries, 50 km to the south-east from
Mumbai (former Bombay). It is
India’s principal research centre in
the nuclear power engineering field,
engaged both in fundamental and
applied studies.
Indian atomic industry’s his-
tory dates back to 1945 when
the Institute of Fundamental
Research was established. Dr. Homi
Jehangir Bhabha, first director of
the Institute, was the initiator and
developer of the Indian Nuclear
Programme officially announced in
March 1944. He considered forma-
tion of national specialists in the
field of nuclear power generation
as one of the major goals of the
Institute. “When nuclear energy
is successfully applied to human
activities, and this may happen in a
couple of decades from now, India
will not have to look abroad for
nuclear experts for they will be
formed in this country”.
In April 1948 Atomic Energy
Act was adopted, and in August
1948 Atomic Energy Commission
was set up. On 3 January 1954
the Commission endorsed set-
ting up of the Atomic Energy
Establishment in Trombay under
its supervision. Since that time all
projects related to nuclear energy
(construction of nuclear reactors,
design and development of nuclear
weapons, processing of radioac-
tive materials, development of rel-
evant electronic, machine-building
and other technologies and equip-
ment) were transferred from the
Institute of Fundamental Research
to the Atomic Energy Establishment
in Trombay (even though it was offi-
cially opened by Jawaharlal Nehru
only on 20 January 1957).
Another important milestone
in the history of the Indian atomic
industry was laid on 3 April 1954
when the Department of Atomic
Energy was created within the Indian
Government, and Dr. H. Bhabha was
appointed its Secretary. The Atomic
Energy Establishment was brought
under the control of the new
Department. Organisationally,
the Atomic Energy Commission used
to be a part of the Ministry of Natural
Resources and Scientific Research.
Since then, however, the new
Department came under direct con-
trol of India’s Prime Minister (at that
time — Jawaharlal Nehru).
On 22 January 1967 Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi renamed
the Atomic Energy Establishment
as Bhabha Atomic Research Center
to commemorate its founder
Dr. Homi Bhabha who died in an air
crash on 24 January 1966.
At present BARC researchers con-
duct works in the following direc-
tions:
– elementary particles physics;
– atomic energy engineering sup-
port;
– isotopes analyses;
– radiation medicine;
– nuclear energy applications
to agriculture,
– computers;
– robotics;
– information technologies.
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
AIR DEFENCE
14 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
The Indian Armed Forces com-
missioned in due time two modifi-
cations of the Prithvi missile: Prithvi I
(SS-150) for the Indian Army, and
Prithvi II (SS-250) for the Indian
Air Force (25 missiles) and later
for the Indian Army. It is most prob-
able that the “airborne” modification
of the Prithvi missile was first publicly
demonstrated at the military parade
on the occasion of India’s Republic
Day on 26 January 1995, but its in-
ception into service by the Indian Air
Force was officially announced only
on 18 April 2001 by the then Minister
of Defence Jaswant Singh in his
speech to the Parliament. He stat-
ed then that it was only a trial oper-
ation and further acquisition of this
ballistic missile for the Air Force was
not planned. At present a subsidiary
enterprise of the Bharat Dynamics
Limited company in Hyderabad is
producing only the Prithvi II missiles.
There were also reports that
the Prithvi II ballistic missile under-
went upgrading in the second half
of the 1990s. As a result, new high-
energy fuel for the missile allowed
its developers to increase the war-
head weight from 500 kg to 1,000 kg
while retaining the given flight
range. Some Indian media report
that the upgraded version of the mis-
sile is powered by a solid-propellant
engine. The first test launch of this
modification took place on 31 March
2001, and the missile flight range
then was 250 km. However, there is
every likelihood that it concerns an
entirely new ballistic missile, desig-
nated as “Prithvi III” (see below), rath-
er than the Prithvi II modification.
In 2001 a series of tests were con-
ducted to evaluate combat effective-
ness of a multipurpose combat mod-
ule armed with a row of various-type
warheads: incendiary, cluster with
bomblets, and runway buster war-
head. In the early 2001 the Prithvi
ballistic missile systems were in-
cepted into active service and put
on combat duty. The decision about
it was based on the analysis of the
Indian armed forces’ potential dur-
ing the confrontation with Pakistan
in 2001.
According to unclassified publi-
cations the Indian Army has by now
formed as a minimum three mis-
sile groups numbered 333, 444, and
555. Terminology-wise, an Indian
Army’s missile group corresponds
to a Russian missile brigade: that is,
one Prithvi missile group includes
three missile battalions with 12 mis-
sile launchers in each, and three sup-
plementary transporter-launcher
units in the reserve of the missile
group commander. Thus it turns out
that the total number of the Prithvi
missile system transporter-launch-
er vehicles of various modifications
in the Indian Army can amount to 45
units. Analysts assume though that
their quantity is much less in reality.
The third missile group to be formed
in 2003, as was then announced, ac-
tually existed only on paper for some
years. Indian sources still insist that
the national defence industry is ca-
pable, in case of necessity, of pro-
ducing three to four such missiles
per month.
It is worth mentioning that after
successful completion of the Agni
A mockup of the Sukanya class patrol ship with the Dhanush ballistic mis-sile
Dhanush bal-listic missile
AIR DEFENCE
1(51).2010 ● 15
intermediate-range ballistic missile
test Mr K. Shantanam, the DRDO
technical and scientific advisor,
made a statement that the Prithvi
ballistic missile had never been
planned to be the principal nuclear
capable delivery vehicle: such role
was considered for it only in con-
tingency cases. The Indian nucle-
ar scientist said in particular: “Now
we can state that the Agni solid-fu-
el missile has completely assumed
the role of delivering the nuclear
charge, taking it off from the Prithvi
liquid-fuel missile”.
Developer of the Prithvi missile
system — Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO)
of India.
Prime contractor — Bharat
Dynamics Limited (BDL) company,
Hyderabad.
Subcontractors for the Program:
– Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL)
company, Bangalore — liquid-fu-
el engine and missile body com-
ponents;
– Bharat Aluminum (Balco) compa-
ny — components made of alu-
minium alloys, and missile body
components;
– Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML)
company — transporter-launch-
ers and other vehicles based
on the Kolos truck;
– Khirkee Explosives and Com bus-
tibles Plant, Pune — liquid fuel
components.
An estimated cost of one serial-
ly-produced missile is about 0.74–
1.4 mln USD.
DHANUSH SEA-LAUNCHED
BALLISTIC MISSILE SYSTEM
The Dhanush (Sanskrit for “Bow”)
sea-launched ballistic missile has
been designed within the framework
of the Prithvi ballistic missile develop-
ment programme. Indian specialists
describe colourfully the system com-
position: ‘Dhanush’ is the launching
unit equipped with the hydraulic sta-
bilisation system, which is a ‘bow’,
whereas the missile is an ‘arrow’ shot
by means of the above mentioned
bow. Indian sources sometimes
designate the Dhanush otherwise,
as Prithvi III (SS-350).
The Dhanush missile is struc-
turally similar to its prototype,
the Prithvi II single-stage ballistic
missile. Two variants of the missile
are said to have been developed:
an anti-ship missile with the launch
range of around 250 km, and a ship-
to-surface missile with the launch
range of around 500 km. Indian mis-
sile experts are also said to be devel-
oping a submarine-launched version
of the Dhanush ballistic missile — if
so, this one should be powered by
a solid-propellant engine.
The Dhanush ballistic missile
specifications are as follows: missle
launch weight — 4,400 kg, warhead
type and weight — conventional
high explosive, 500 kg (there are re-
ports that the warhead weight can
be increased up to 1,000 kg), mis-
sile length — 8.56 m. misile body di-
ameter — 1.1 m, number of stages —
one, flight range — 250–350 km,
CEP — about 250 m, guidance sys-
tem type — inertial. The ship-
based management system allows
launching the missile at a pitch an-
gle of up to 5 degrees and roll an-
gle of up to 10 degrees. The mis-
sile pointing accuracy is within one
degree. The maximum range flight
duration is 300 seconds. The mis-
sile launch system is said to be able
to also manage the Sagarika tactical
missile. This eventuality makes some
experts speculate that the Sagarika
and Dhanush missiles are nothing
other than different modifications
of the same prototype derived from
the Prithvi ballistic missile.
The Sukanya class ‘Subhadra’ pa-
trol ship (INS Subhadra, P51) was em-
ployed as a carrier ship for the mis-
Sagarika sea-launched mis-sile test
AIR DEFENCE
16 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
sile tests and trial operation. The first
missile flight test was conducted on-
board this ship, and ended up as a fail-
ure when the ballistic missile proto-
type broke in two in the air, fell down
and sank at the 4th second of the
flight. The second test launch was
performed in December 2000 and
the third one — on 21 September
2001. The latter one was consid-
ered a complete success as the mis-
sile carrying a 500-kg payload was
launched from the ship off the coast
of Orissa state, covered the pre-
planned distance (150 km), and
splashed down in the defined wa-
ter area of the Bay of Bengal. A rep-
resentative of the Indian Ministry
of Defence even declared in the in-
terview for “The Hindustan Times”
newspaper that India’s military and
political leaders would soon begin
“to practically employ the system”.
But in the same year an official rep-
resentative of the Indian Navy who
preferred to remain unnamed point-
ed out that “Indian Navy no longer
considers the Dhanush ballistic mis-
sile as a platform for nuclear charge
delivery”. Finally, in September 2002
Dr. Abdul Kalam, the then scientif-
ic advisor to the Minister of Defence,
announced that the Dhanush ballis-
tic missile was prepared to enter ser-
vice with the Indian Navy.
The missile was planned to be in-
ducted by the Indian Navy for tri-
al operation not later that 2003,
yet no credible information about
this issue has been released so far.
Even though after the fourth suc-
cessful test onboard the Subdhara
patrol ship some Indian media re-
ported that the Ministry of Defence
had allegedly placed an order for 30
missiles at the manufacturing plant.
The serial production missile was
tested during the fifth trial launch
conducted in the Bay of Bengal
on 28 December 2005.
The sea-launched ballistic mis-
sile development is apparently
going to be stay on hold, at least
for some time in the near future,
since the tension in relations be-
tween India and Pakistan has some-
what eased down, whereas this ship-
borne missile system had been made
as a deterrent for Pakistan: it was
planned that Indian surface ships
armed with such systems would sail
to safe positions off main ports and
naval stations of Pakistan and de-
liver massive missile strikes against
them (some experts even consid-
er the Dhanush missile to be noth-
ing else than technology demon-
strator). A model of such carrier ship
with the Dhanush ballistic missile
launcher onboard was shown at the
Defexpo 2002 International defence
exhibition (it is now showcased
at the Indian Minister of Defence
representation area on the territory
of the Pragati Maidan exhibition cen-
tre in Delhi).
Developer — Defence Research
and Development Organisation
(DRDO) of India
Prime contractor — Bharat
Dynamics Limited (BDL) company,
Hyderabad.
Subcontractor for the pro-
gramme — Hindustan Aeronautics
LTD (HAL) company, Bangalore — en-
gine and missile body components;
Shaurya tactical/theatre ballsistic missile
A hypothetical view of the Sagirika mis-sile outside its transport-launch can-ister
AIR DEFENCE
1(51).2010 ● 17
SAGARIKA (SHAURYA) TACTICAL/
THEATRE MISSILE SYSTEM
The Sagarika (Sanskrit
for “Oceanic”) sea-launched missile
system and its land-based version
“Shaurya” (Sanskrit for “Valour”) are
a follow-on development of the
Prithvi ballistic missile incorpo-
rating new technologies drawn
by Indian experts from the joint
Russian-Indian BrahMos project.
The new missile has been devel-
oped since 1991. It is a two-stage
missile in which both stages are
powered by solid-propellant mo-
tors. In contrast to the preceding
models of the Prithvi family ballistic
missiles, the Sagarika and Shaurya
tactical/theatre missiles do not
have an X-form wing in the mid-
portion of the missile body, and
their specifications are much clos-
er to those of the BrahMos mis-
sile than the Prithvi ballistic mis-
sile. The missile flight tests start-
ed in 2004: two successful launches
were performed on 23 January and
19 March 2004.
The missile bode is made of a steel
alloy. The Sagarika missile specifica-
tions are as follows: length — 10.0 m,
maximum body diameter — 0.74 m,
launch weight — about 6,200 kg,
maximum CEP — not more than
25 m. With the new engine and high-
energy fuel the Sagarika missile can
be fired at a range of 350 to 600 km,
and deliver a payload weighing
from 500 kg to 1,000 kg. A number
of Indian sources have intimated that
the missile developer is taking mea-
sures to increase the missile launch
range up to 1,300 to 2,500 km and
has requested technical assistance
of Russia and Israel. The Sagarika/
Shaurya missile system powered by
solid-propellant engines has a sub-
stantially greater combat potential
since there is no need any more
to keep a crowd of technical support
vehicles within the missile battalions
as was the case with the Prithvi I and
Prithvi II liquid-propellant missiles.
The missile is stored in a 2.4-m di-
ameter composite transport-launch
canister.
It is also most interesting that
besides ground-to-ground modifi-
cation of the Sagarika missile, Indian
specialists are developing its sub-
marine-launched version (designat-
ed in some Indian media as Project
K-15) for arming an indigenously de-
veloped advanced nuclear-powered
submarine. The missile is planned
to carry a warhead weighing from
180 kg to 550 kg with either conven-
tional or nuclear (17–150 kT yield)
charge.
Information about the Sagarika
missile system programme is rather
contradictory, but some media had
reports that the Sagarika ballistic
missile was launched from a special
underwater test facility at Chandipur
test range on 27 October 2004, and
on 12 November 2008 sixth test
launch of this kind was made, but
there are no more data about further
testing since then. The missile silos
onboard the advanced submarine
are supposed to accommodate both
one Agni III ballistic missile special
modification (one Agni IIISL per silo)
and Sagarika missiles (three missiles
per silo). The Sagarika missiles can be
launched from submerged position
at the depth of 50 m (precise launch
depth range is unknown).
AGNI FAMILY STRATEGIC BALLISTIC
MISSILE SYSTEM
First attempts to develop an in-
digenous long-range strategic mis-
sile were undertaken in the early
1970s. Thus, Project Valiant was start-
ed in 1972 with the purpose to de-
sign and manufacture a three-stage
liquid-propellant intercontinen-
tal ballistic missile. The first boost-
er stage was supposed to accommo-
date three liquid-propellant rocket
engines with a 30-tonne thrust each,
and the second stage should have
had one such engine. At the same
time civil-purpose rocket special-
ists from the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) were develop-
ing a family of space launch vehicles:
in 1980 they made first successful
launch of a four-stage space launch
vehicle SLV-3.
The technical heritage accumu-
lated in Project Valiant (cancelled
for some reason in 1974) as well as
in the Space Launch Vehicle proj-
ect laid perfect ground for de-
sign works over the Agni (Sanskrit
for “Fire”) family ballistic missiles, of-
Launch of the Agni I medium-range ballistic missile.By expert esti-mates at least 10 nuclear charges for these mis-siles have been produced until now.
AIR DEFENCE
18 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
ficially started in 1983, although indi-
vidual case studies had been going
on since 1979.
The first member in this ballis-
tic missile family was the Agni-
TD/TTB missile (where TD means
“Technology Demonstrator”, and
TTB — “Technology Test Bed”).
Generally speaking, the missile was
used as a technology demonstrator
and test prototype helping to elab-
orate a number of tasks and compo-
nents, including, first of all, the fol-
lowing ones:
– missile design optimisation, de-
termination of stages number
and composition;
– study of missile control meth-
ods in various flight trajectory
phases, especially during reen-
try of its warhead (reentry ve-
hicle) into dense layers of the
Earth’s atmosphere at hyperson-
ic speeds;
– possibility to introduce in-
to the reentry vehicle structure
a multi-directionally reinforced
carbon-fiber preform technology
(MRCP) material, as well as:
– testing of a new inertial naviga-
tion system.
Indian developers of the new mis-
sile confessed that the first Agni fam-
ily offspring was kind of a hybrid
of the Prithvi ballistic missile with
the S-1 booster stage of the SLV-3
launch vehicle. The booster was a lit-
tle modified and employed solid
propellant. To reduce design time,
a shortened version of the Prithvi
missile’s liquid-propellant engine
was used in the second stage of the
new missile instead of a solid-propel-
lant engine (yet to be designed).
The first successful test of the new
missile took place on 22 May 1989
at Chandipur test range. For the sec-
ond test the missile’s second stage
was slightly modified to take great-
er fuel load. The last Agni-TD/TTB
ballistic missile was test launched
on 19 February 1994. According
to Indian sources, during that flight
an upgraded reentry vehicle ca-
pable of performing self-correc-
tion and terminal evasive manoeu-
vres (after entering into dense layers
of the Earth’s atmosphere) was test-
ed for the first time. The maximum
missile flight range registered dur-
ing tests was 1,450 km (maximum
possible range was announced to be
1,500 km).
The Agni-TD/TTB missile nev-
er entered service with the Indian
armed forces, although in 1999 dur-
ing Kargil armed conflict at least
one such missile was prepared to-
gether with four Prithvi missiles
for combat employment in the nu-
clear capable configuration in case
if Pakistan had begun a large-scale
aggression against India or had first
employed nuclear weapons. In his
book “Weapons of Peace: The Secret
Story of India’s Quest To Be a Nuclear
Power” published in India in 2000
Raj Chengappa writes that the above
mentioned five missiles were
brought into Combat Readiness No.
3 status which stipulates that nucle-
ar warheads should be completely
prepared for employment and ready
for installation on the carrier mis-
siles. All the missiles were moved
and deployed near India’s western
regions in close vicinity to the Indo-
Pakistan border. Some Indian high-
ranking officials and retired gener-
als have even avowed that the nu-
clear charge was indeed mounted
on the Agni missile, and the missile
itself was brought to the launch posi-
tion, fully loaded with fuel, and ready
for immediate launch.
As of today, the Agni ballistic mis-
sile family has four fully completed
missile modifications with two more
under development:
– Agni-TD/TTB — a medium-range
two-stage technology demon-
strator missile (its first stage is
a solid propellant booster, and
the second stage — a liquid-pro-
A mockup of the Agni ballistic missile railway-based launcherA mockup of the Agni ballistic missile railway-based launcher
Agni II ballistic Agni II ballistic missile mobile missile mobile launcher at the launcher at the military parade military parade in Delhiin Delhi
AIR DEFENCE
1(51).2010 ● 19
pellant motor). The missile has
successfully passed tests, and its
production is terminated;
– Agni I (or A-1) — a single-stage
solid-propellant medium-range
ballistic missile having the launch
range of 850 km with a 1,000-kg
warhead. The missile is in service
with the Indian Army, its produc-
tion is continued;
– Agni II (or A-2) — a two-stage sol-
id-propellant medium/interme-
diate-range ballistic missile hav-
ing the launch range of 2,800–
3,000 km with a 1,000-kg war-
head. The missile is in service with
the Indian Army, its production is
continued;
– Agni IIAT (or A-2AT) — an upgrad-
ed version of the Agni II ballistic
missile having the launch range
increased up to 4,000 km with
a 1,500-kg warhead. The missile
is made of the state-of-the-art
more durable and light materials.
The missile is under development;
– Agni III — a three-stage solid-pro-
pellant intercontinental ballistic
missile having the launch range
of not less than 5,500 km with
a 1,500-kg warhead, or 12,000 km
for a 500-kg warhead;
– Agni IV (or Agni III++) — a three-
stage solid-propellant intercon-
tinental ballistic missile having
the launch range of more than
10,000 km with a 1,000-kg war-
head. The missile is under devel-
opment.
Indian media sources report
that the Agni family missiles will
be further upgraded by equipping
them with satellite navigation sys-
tem receivers of either Russian-
made GLONASS (GLObal NAvigation
Satellite System), for which Russia
and India have reached a fundamen-
tal agreement to operate it jointly, or
Indian-made IRNSS (Indian Regional
Navigation Satellite System) which
should cover up to 35% of the Globe
according to its Indian developers.
AGNI I MEDIUM-RANGE BALLISTIC
MISSILE
The Agni I is a single-stage sol-
id-propellant medium-range ballis-
tic missile fitted with a separable
warhead and an inertial navigation
system.
The development works over
the Agni I missile project were start-
ed in 1994 immediately after suc-
cessful tests of the Agni-TD/TTB bal-
listic missiles. However, after some
time they were suspended and re-
sumed after successfully tests of the
Agni II ballistic missile. It was revived
on the initiative of the Indian Armed
Forces who demanded urgent in-
duction into service of a ballistic mis-
sile with greater flight range than
that of the Prithvi missile but less
than the Agni II’s. The range should
be within 300–2,000 km. As a result
of the design studies it was decided
to re-engineer the Agni II medium-
range ballistic missile instead of de-
veloping a new one. Actually one
stage was cut off from the missile,
and the new missile became thus sin-
gle-stage.
The Agni I missile specifications
are as follows: length — about 15 m,
maximum missile body diametre —
1.0 m, launching weight — about
12 tonnes, reentry vehicle weight with
the nuclear charge — up to 1,000 kg.
Its reentry vehicle is identical to that
mounted on the Agni II medium-
range ballistic missile. The Agni I mis-
sile with the standard-weight reentry
vehicle (1,000 kg) has launch range
of about 850 km. According to its
developers, if fitted with a lower-
weight reentry vehicle (e.g. 500 kg)
the missile can have its flight range
increased up to 1,200 km. The missile
has the same booster and electron-
ics as those installed in the Agni II
ICBM.
The first test flight of the ballistic
missile topped with a 1,000-kg reen-
try vehicle took place on 25 January
2002. The missile was launched
from a mobile wheeled launcher (so
Agni IIITD intercontinental ballistic missile prototypeAgni IIITD intercontinental ballistic missile prototype
Developers of the Agni III ICBM at their product
AIR DEFENCE
20 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
called road-mobile launch). The mis-
sile flew at a range of about 700 km.
On 9 January 2003 the second mis-
sile was test launched at a range
of 700 km. The Agni I missile launch-
er can be mounted on a railway car-
riage base.
The Agni I medium-range ballistic
missile has sufficient flight range and
combat power. Therefore the mis-
sile can engage any vital installa-
tions on the territory of Pakistan
without having to deploy its launch-
ers in close vicinity to the border.
Besides, the missile can engage tar-
gets on the territory of Afghanistan,
Iran, and China as well.
By expert estimates, up to ten 200-
kT nuclear warheads for the Agni I
medium-range ballistic missile
have been produced and delivered
to the Indian armed forces in the
period since 1998 until now. Indian
sources report that the Agni I ballistic
missiles are in service with 334th and
444th Missile Groups of the Indian
Army.
The missile cost amounts
to 3.5 mln USD.
AGNI II MEDIUM-RANGE BALLISTIC
MISSILE
The Agni II is a two-stage sol-
id-propellant medium-range
(in Western terminology -intermedi-
ate-range) ballistic missile fitted with
one separable warhead of about
200-kilotonne yield and an inertial
navigation system based on Indian-
designed/Indian-produced laser gy-
roscopes. The missile development
started in 1979 and was included
into the Integrated Guided Missile
Development Program in 1983.
The Agni II specifications are as
follows: missile length — 19.6 m,
maximum body diameter — 1.0 m,
missile launch weight — about
16 tonnes, reentry vehicle weight
with the nuclear charge — up
to 1,000 kg, launch range — not
less than 2,000 km. The onboard
missile equipment is integrated via
MIL-STD-1553B standard data bus.
The developers succeeded in reduc-
ing length of cables and wires by 8
times compared with a 24-km long
wiring on the Agni-TD/TTB ballis-
tic missile. The Mk.2 reentry vehi-
cle houses one 200–300 kT warhead
(from the total weight of 1,000 kg,
the warhead and antiballistic mis-
sile defence penetration means ac-
count for 750 kg, and the rest goes
to the reentry vehicle structure).
The missile CEP is 100–200 m, but as
some media have reported, the de-
velopers have been able to reduce it
to 40 m by introducing new equip-
ment (e.g. satellite navigation sys-
tem receivers). Besides, the reentry
vehicle of the missile can be pow-
ered by a high altitude-correction
liquid-propellant motor. To avoid
overheating, the reentry vehicle en-
ters the atmosphere at a high inci-
dence angle.
The A210 type powerplant makes
use of solid-propellant engines in the
first and second stages. The first
stage booster engine is practical-
ly identical to that used in the Agni-
TD/TTB missile which, in its turn, was
derived from the SLV-3 launch vehi-
cle engine. The booster uses more
advanced fuel with improved char-
acteristics. Both stages are made
of the 15CDV6 grade high-strength
steel. The missile launch preparation
now takes only 15 minutes thanks
to the employment of the solid-pro-
pellant engines which allow for dras-
tic reduction of the pre-flight pro-
cedures.
The new missile was first test
launched on 11 April 1999 at 09:47
Indian Standard Time from the IC-4
launch pad of then new test range
situated in the inner part of Wheeler
Island off the coast of Orissa State
at the range of 150 km from its
capital, the city of Bhubaneshwar.
The ballistic missile was launched
from a mobile launching unit made
from a modified railway carriage re-
sembling structurally a railway car-
Agni IIITD intercontinen-tal ballistic missile
Agni IIITD intercontinen-tal ballistic missile
AIR DEFENCE
1(51).2010 ● 21
riage/launcher in the Russian rail-
way-mobile Molodets ICBM system.
The combat crew was accommodat-
ed in the adjacent re-equipped rail-
way carriage.
The missile was reported to be
equipped with a GPS receiv-
er. The missile with a 700-kg war-
head flew at a range of 2,100 km
for 11 minutes and splashed down
in a given water area of the Bay
of Bengal. The missile development
team confirmed that test character-
istics and CEP attained were close
to design estimates. They also val-
idated estimated maximum flight
range of up to 2,800 — 3,000 km
for a “special configuration”.
It must be noted that on 14 April
Pakistan responded with another
testing of its Ghauri-2 medium-range
ballistic missile. It was launched
from Tilla-Jogian test range, 40 km
from Jhelum city, Punjab, to South-
East of Islamabad, almost at the very
border with India. The missile flew
for 11 minutes at a range of 1,400 km
and fell down in a defined area
of the test range near Jiwani city
on the coast of Beluchistan state.
Pakistani specialists affirm that this
nuclear-capable missile has maxi-
mum launch range of not less than
2,300 km.
The Agni II missile production
started in small batches after its
second test had been successful-
ly completed on 17 January 2001
at Chandipur test range, Orissa (lift-
off at 10:01 Indian Standard Time)
The launch was performed from
a mobile launching unit mount-
ed on the wheeled chassis (tractor-
trailer). The range was always about
2,100 km. The main test task was
to verify the ballistic missile accura-
cy at long range. Upon completion
of the test Professor P. N. Aggarwal,
head of the Agni programme, said
that the results of the flight tests
confirmed that the objectives set be-
fore his team were fully achieved”.
India’s Minister of Defence George
Fernandes in his letter of 7 March
2001 to Members of Parliament an-
nounced that the Indian Government
took decision to start series pro-
duction of the Agni II ballistic mis-
sile. According to Indian sources,
Bharat Dynamics Limited can pro-
duce up to 12-18 missiles per month.
Speaking to the Parliament on 15
May 2002 George Fernandes intimat-
ed that the Government took the fun-
damental decision to form the sec-
ond Agni ballistic missile group.
Agni IIITD ICBM test launch
BASIC SPECIFICATIONS OF THE AGNI FAMILY BALLISTIC MISSILES
Characteristics Agni-TD/TTB Agni I Agni II Agni IIAT Agni III Agni IV
First stage mass 10,800 10,800 10,800 20,000 30,500more
than 30,000
Second stage mass 7,000 - 4,200 6,000 12,000more
than 12,000
Third stage mass — — — — — 2,300
Reentry vehicle mass with combat payload
up to 1,000 up to 1,000 up to 1,000 up to 1,500 1,500 or 500 up to 1,000
Missile launch mass, kg: around 19,000 around 12,000 around 16,000 more than 27,000 more than 43,000 up to 50,000
First stage length, m 10.3 10.3 10.3 12.0 6.6 6.8
Second stage length, m 6.0 — 4.8 4.8 4.2 4.2
Third stage length — — — — — 1,0
Reentry vehicle length, m 4.0 4.5 4.5 2.6 3.3 2.0
Missile length, m 20.3 14.8 19.6 19.4 14.1 14.0
First stage diameter, m 1.3 1.0 1.0 1.2 2.0 2.0
Second stage diameter, m 0.8 — 1.0 1.2 1.8 1.8
Third stage diameter, m — — — — — n/a
Maximum reentry vehicle diameter, m
0.8 0.81 0.8 1.0 1.8 1.8
Launch range, km 1,500 850 2,800–3,000 4,0005,500 (1,500 kg)
or 12,000 (500 kg)10,000
Nuclear warhead yield, kT n/a 1x200 1x200 1x200 or 1x300 1x200 or 1x300 3x200 or 3x300
AIR DEFENCE
22 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
In 2003 India’s National Security
Committee endorsed the request
of the Indian Armed Forces to form
two additional missile groups: 334th
Agni I Missile Group and 335th Agni II
Missile Group. On 29 August 2004
the Agni II medium-range ballistic
missile was again successfully test
launched (third time in succession)
from the test range on Wheeler
Island. The launch was attended
by the Indian Minister of Defence
Pranab Mukherjee.
Experts estimate that in the
period since 2000 until now up
to ten 200-kT nuclear charges
for the Agni II medium-range ballis-
tic missile have been produced and
delivered to the Indian armed forces.
The missile cost amounts
to 4.7 mln USD.
AGNI III INTERCONTINENTAL
BALLISTIC MISSILE
The Agni III is the first interconti-
nental ballistic missile (ICBM) devel-
oped and produced by the Indian de-
fence industrial complex. It is a two-
stage missile powered by solid-pro-
pellant engines.
The Agni III ICBM specifications
are as follows: missile length —
14.1 m, maximum diameter — 2.0 m,
missile launch weight — more than
43 tonnes, reentry vehicle weight
with the warhead and antiballis-
tic missile defence penetration
means — from 500 to 1,500 kg, reen-
try vehicle type — monoblock Mk3
of 200 to 300 kT yield, maximum mis-
sile launch range — 5,500 km (with
the 1,500-kg reentry vehicle mass)
or 12,000 km (with the 500-kg reen-
try vehicle mass). Some media have
published reports that the Agni III
ICBM can be employed in the con-
ventional, non-nuclear configuration
with a 2,490–3,490-kg high explo-
sive warhead. In this case the missile
launch weight can be increased up
to 48 tonnes. The missile reentry ve-
hicle is provided with a fairing to pro-
tect the warhead from overheating
when it passes through dense layers
of the atmosphere. The fairing is en-
tirely made of composites capable
of withstanding high temperatures
of up to 5,000 degrees Centigrade.
On 7 February 2001, when visit-
ing the AeroIndia 2001 International
Air Show, Dr. B. K. Athre, chief
of the DRDO and scientific advi-
sor to the Minister of Defence, said
that the Agni III missile was planned
for induction into operational ser-
vice, and it would have greater
flight range and improved combat
effectiveness. However, it was only
on 17 May 2006 that the DRDO lead-
ers officially acknowledged the very
fact of the existence of the inter-
continental ballistic missile devel-
opment programme: on that day
the existence of the missile was re-
vealed, and a short video footage
about one of its tests was released
for public.
The announcement of the new
missile flight tests starting date
was postponed at least three times
on both political and technical rea-
sons. Finally, on 9 July 2006 the first
test launch of the Agni ICBM was
made at the test range on Wheeler
Island which turned out to be a fail-
ure. Since the first stage did not sepa-
rate from the second one (there were
also reports that the second stage
separation had failed), the Agni III
missile fell down on the ground
short of the target area.
It is noteworthy that initial-
ly the developers planned to con-
duct only three flight tests of the
new missile, considering the major-
ity of its components already cer-
tified on other Agni family missiles
and having no need for re-certifi-
cation. It could have allowed induc-
tion of this strategic missile sys-
tem into operational service even
in 2008. Since the abortive flight
test has compromised prospects
for successful implementation
of the charted plans, neither mil-
itary-political leaders nor the de-
veloping company hasten to fix
the date of the missile induction in-
to service. At the same time Indian
experts have already expressed
their opinions about the possibili-
ty to derive several new modifica-
tions from the Agni III ICBM, includ-
ing: — Agni IIISL shortened sub-
marine-launched version (approx-
imately 12 m long, equipped with
three independently targeted reen-
try vehicles); — a missile equipped
with multiple independently target-
ed reentry vehicles (MIRV); — as
well as a three-stage version with
substantially longer flight range.
The Agni III missile has sufficient
power capacity to reach and engage
any vital installations on the territory
of Pakistan as well as important tar-
gets on the territory of China, includ-
ing Shanghai and Beijing.
AGNI IIAT MEDIUM-RANGE
BALLISTIC MISSILE
The Agni IIAT medium-range bal-
listic missile is a further develop-
ment of the Agni II missile conducted
under the Continuous Improvement
Program for this missile family (“AT”
stands for Advanced Technology).
The new medium-range ballistic
missile modification features:
– warhead with lower-weight nu-
clear charge (but with greater
yield);
– upgraded engine promising
to provide increased launch
range of up to 4,000 km;
– first stage greater diameter
booster made of higher-strength
steel (250-M) enabling the fuel-
to-booster mass ratio to be raised
to 0.88;
– substitution of steel in the second
stage body structure with new
composite materials enabling
the fuel-to-second-stage mass ra-
tio to be raised to 0.92;
GSLV Mk III launch vehicle
AIR DEFENCE
1(51).2010 ● 23
– lower-mass reentry vehicle body
fully made of composite materi-
als (an option to mount the Mk4
type reentry vehicle, developed
for the Agni III ICBM, is also con-
sidered).
AGNI IV INTERCONTINENTAL
BALLISTIC MISSILE
The Agni IV intercontinental bal-
listic missile is a follow-on develop-
ment of the Agni III ICBM, featuring
an additional third stage powered
by a solid-propellant engine weigh-
ing about 2.3 tonnes. Its estimated
launch range is supposed to extend
to 10,000 km. The missile will also
be fitted with a new independently
targeted reentry vehicle 2.0 m long
(instead of 3.3 m) comprising three
independently targeted warheads
and a set of antiballistic missile de-
fence penetration means. There are
plans to load the reentry vehicle with
a lower-mass nuclear charge (retain-
ing the same yield) developed dur-
ing nuclear tests conducted by India
in 1998 (under Projects Shakti-I and
Pokhyran-II)
The Agni IV ICBM specifications are
as follows: missile length — 14.0 m,
launch weight — up to 50 tonnes, re-
entry vehicle weight with the charge
and antiballistic missile defence pen-
etration means — up to 1,000 kg, re-
entry vehicle type — multiple in-
dependently targeted reentry vehi-
cles; maximum flight range with full
(1000 kg) combat payload — about
10,000 km.
SURYA-I/SURYA-II
INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC
MISSILES
The Surya (Sanskrit for “Sun”) fam-
ily intercontinental missiles are seen
as advanced ballistic missile technol-
ogy items. Data on these missiles are
rather contradictory. Some sources
intimate that the Surya II is anoth-
er designation for the Agni IV ICBM.
Other sources publish data accord-
ing to which the new ICBM is derived
from the Indian Polar Space Launch
Vehicle (PSLV).
The Surya missile is supposed
to comprise three stages: first and
second stages powered by solid-pro-
pellant engines (modified versions
of the corresponding PSLV engines),
third stage with a liquid-propellant
engine derived from the correspond-
ing Vikas engine of the PSLV launch
vehicle (French design) or a cryogen-
ic engine of the GSLV launch vehicle
(Russian design). The missile will be
deployed at fixed launch positions.
Flight tests were planned to start
in 2009, induction in service is ex-
pected in 2015. No reports have
been published so far about the be-
ginning of this missile flight tests.
The Surya I/II ICBM specifica-
tions are as follows: missile length —
40.0 m, missile diameter — 2.8 m,
launch weight — about 80 tonnes,
multiple independently targeted re-
entry vehicles — two or three war-
heads of 15-20 kT yield each (or 200-
300 kT each, according to other da-
ta sources). The Surya I missile has
maximum launch range of 5,000 —
8,000 km, whereas the Surya II ICBM
from 12,000 km to 20,000 km.
A special emphasis should be
made on the fact that Indian military
and political leaders always official-
ly denied that the country conduct-
ed works on the development of in-
tercontinental ballistic missiles. For
example, India’s Minister of Foreign
Affairs Jaswant Singh said at the
press-conference in January 2002:
“ICBM is not our priority, nor our goal”.
Development activities
for the Agni and Surya ICBM fami-
lies are implemented by the follow-
ing parties:
1. Developer — Defence Research
and Development Organisation
(DRDO) of India;
2. Ballistic missile manufactur-
er — Bharat Dynamics Limited,
Hyderabad;
3. Developer of mobile launcher
and transport-loader vehicle (ex-
cepting the Agni IV and Surya
family missiles) — Research &
Development Engineers (R&DE),
Pune.
4. Manufacturer of mobile launch-
er and transport-loader vehi-
cle (excepting the Agni IV and
Surya family missiles) — Vehicle
Research & Development
Establishment (VRDE), DRDO divi-
sion, Ahmednagar.
5. Manufacturer of the nucle-
ar charge — Bhabha Atomic
Research Centre (BARC).
PSLV C3 launch vehicle
GSLV Mk I launch vehicle
PSLV C3-1 launch vehicle
LAND FORCES
24 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
t present, the develop-
ment level of armoured
vehicles signifies to a
large extent the military
potential of the country’s
land forces. Infantry fighting vehicles
(IFVs) are the most widely-used type
of the land forces’ hardware. Constant
upgrade of the combat vehicles fleet
is performed by means of developing
novel combat assets and moderniza-
tion of existing armoured vehicles.
The service life of the armoured
vehicles is rather lengthy, amounting
to 30–40 years. Many countries of the
world are retrofitting the majority of
their combat vehicles. The US is cur-
rently refurbishing its Bradley M2A2
IFV up to the M2A3 configuration.
The Russian-made BMP-2 IFV be-
ing the main CV of the land forces in
many countries was put into service
in 1980 and appeared to be superior
to the majority of its foreign counter-
parts in terms of combat character-
istics. Currently, the BMP-2 still com-
plies with the modern requirements
as regards its armour protection and
riding performance.
Analysis of current status and de-
velopmental tendencies of arma-
ment and fire control systems sug-
gests BMP-2’s weapon system lag-
ging behind the modern state of the
art as regards several combat char-
acteristics:
• Guided weapon firing on the
move and when afloat is not pos-
sible because of the wire guid-
ance of the Konkurs missile.
• The Konkurs weapon system
features low rate of fire due to
launcher reloading. There is con-
siderable loss of time during the
reloading procedure, and the op-
erator can get injured by frag-
ments and small arms fire.
• Night firing can be conducted on-
ly by means of the automatic gun
and the PKT machine-gun to the
range of not more than 800 m.
• Non-automated FCS of the BMP-2
(the absence of the on-board
computer, modern sights and tar-
get autotracker) makes it impossi-
ble to perform accurate firing and
constrains the effective range of
fire by the 30mm gun to 1100–
1400 meters. Considerable er-
rors while firing on the move are
caused by insufficient stabiliza-
tion accuracy of the line of sight
implemented by the BPK-2-42
sight rigidly connected with the
weapon.
• Firing from the automated gun
with 30mm rounds with flat tra-
jectory does not allow engage-
ment of hidden and entrenched
manpower.
• Firing at air threats conducted
by means of the 1PZ-3 target as-
pect sight basically has only psy-
chological effect because the kill
probability against a typical aeri-
al target does not exceed several
hundredths.
The lethality of the combat ve-
hicle is determined by the weap-
on system, and it is improvement of
the weapon system that enables to
achieve the highest enhancement
of combat effectiveness. The BMP-2
has large potential of evolution of
the weapon system. KBP Instrument
Design Bureau has solved the prob-
lem of enhancing the fire power of
A
KBP-DESIGNED MODERNIZED FIGHTING COMPARTMENT OF THE BMP-2 — AN EFFICIENT
WAY OF UPGRADING ARMOURED VEHICLES
Weapon system for armoured vehicles (with kornet-e atgm)
Igor Stepanichev
Lev Shvec
LAND FORCES
1(51).2010 ● 25
current BMPs that ensures their supe-
riority over all existing IFVs.
The retrofitting is performed on
the basis of the standard BMP-2 tur-
ret with the 2A42 automatic gun
(while retaining the hull and inter-
nal layout of the turret) within a short
period of time. In terms of design it
includes the following:
• installation of two armoured
launchers of the Kornet-E anti-
tank guided missiles on the sides
of the turret. Each launcher is for
two ready-to-fire missiles and is
fitted with stand-alone electrome-
chanical elevation laying drives;
• installation of the gunner’s
combined sight (instead of the
BPK-2-42 sight) with an indepen-
dent LOS stabilization system. The
sight includes optical, thermal
imaging and laser range finding
channels, as well as the missile
guidance channel;
• installation of the digital on-
board computer with a system
of sensors;
• installation of the TV/thermal
automatic target tracker;
• installation of the 30mm gre-
nade-launcher with an autono-
mous drive from the gun and a
magazine of up to 300 grenades;
• installation of the commander’s
panoramic sight with an inde-
pendent LOS stabilization sys-
tem, which includes TV and la-
ser range finding channels.
The weight of additionally mount-
ed weapons and hardware does not
exseed 500 kg, 260 kg out of these
being the weight of additional am-
munition: ATGM and 30mm grenades.
It’s worth to mention the realized
principle of modular arrangement of
the proposed fighting compartment.
The customer according to his own re-
quirements under the limited financ-
ing can select the upgrade package
variant: full or partial package. The
sighting equipment and armament
(panoramic commander’s sight, sec-
ond ATGW launcher, grenade launch-
er) are installed additionally in the rel-
evant locations of the armoured cupo-
la and are connected with FCS by the
cable joint to the connectors in the ar-
mour of the armoured cupola.
The upgraded BMP-2 with the ad-
vanced Б05Я01 (B05Ya01) fighting
compartment has the following ad-
vantages as compared to the stan-
dard BMP-2:
• Thanks to the day-and-night FCS
it provides the precise firing by
all types of ammunition includ-
ing newly developed, guided and
unguided rounds against moving
and stationary targets, engage-
ment of all targets nomenclature
in stationary position, on the move
and afloat by day/at night includ-
ing automatic gun firing at rang-
es up to 4000 m, Kornet-E ATGW —
up to 5500 m and automatic gre-
nade launcher — up to 2100 m.
• Kornet-E ATGW armour penetra-
tion increase up to 1000-1200mm
provides the reliable engage-
ment of advanced ERA-protected
tanks (Leclerc, Abrams, Leopard).
Besides the HEF warhead of the
missile destroys concrete fortifi-
cations and pillboxes. Targets en-
gagement beyond the enemy’s
effective response fire guarantees
the upgraded BMP-2 victory in
the fighting with tanks and IFVs.
• Four (4) ready-to-fire guided mis-
siles positioned in two (2) stabi-
lized launchers of the upgraded
BMP-2 significantly increase the
ATGM fire rate. Here it is not nec-
essary to reload the ATGM launch-
er during the battle that increas-
es the survivability of the loading
soldier and CV in whole because it
doesn’t stop for ATGM reloading
becoming the easy target on the
battlefield.
• The use of TV/TI target autotrack-
er makes it possible to increase
by 3–6 times the tracking accu-
racy as compared to the manual
mode. The man is excluded from
the aiming contour, the firing re-
sults do not depend upon the gun-
ner’s psychophysical condition
that is especially important un-
der the stress conditions of the
battle. The precise target tracking
becomes the guaranteed perfor-
mance which reduces the gunners
training requirements and training
period itself. The target autotrack-
er gives the totally new quality to
the FCS realizing the “fire-and-for-
get” principle when guided missile
firing. In this case the missile cost
is greatly reduced as compared to
the missile with the homing head
acting as target autotracker.
• Kornet ATGW firing with elevation
above LOS practically excludes the
missile detection by the enemy.
• ATGM laser guidance system with
missile TV-lining in the beam
guarantees high immunity to all
types of jamming because the jam
source cannot be in the IFV rear
and can not have the same codes.
• Salvo firing by two Kornet-E
ATGMs in one beam is provided to
penetrate the targets active pro-
tection and to have gurantee en-
gagement of some highly impor-
tant targets.
• The automatic gun and gre-
nade launcher fire accuracy (by
all types of ammunition) is high-
ly increased thanks to consider-
ation of the most important fir-
ing factors: range to the target
(to be measured by the laser
rangefinder or introduced man-
ually), CV and the target veloc-
ity and direction, wind speed,
temperature and air pressure,
charge temperature, round muz-
zle velocity deviation from nom-
inal value, target elevation angle,
roll and pitch angle, round ejec-
tion angle. Thanks to the digital
onboard computer the fire set-
Weapon system for armoured vehicles (with kornet-e atgm). Side view.
LAND FORCES
26 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
tings are produced automatically.
The effective firing range of
30mm rounds of the automat-
ic gun is increased from 1100–
1400 m to 1800–2000 m.
• The BMP-2 AD fire effectiveness
is also greatly increased: the kill
probability when firing from au-
tomatic gun against usual air tar-
gets like “helicopter”, “assault air-
craft” is increased by several times
and is close to kill probability of
specialized AD missile-gun close-
in systems, with less ammunition
expenditure. Therefore the BMP
universalization principle is suc-
cessfully realized by giving the
AD capabilities without addition-
al costs.
• The manpower is effectively en-
gaged at ranges up to 2100 m in-
cluding behind terrain slopes and
in trenches thanks to low ballistic
weapons (AG-30M automatic gre-
nade launcher with new GPD-30
grenades).
• Potential of combat operation
of the IFV’s commander extends
owing to installation of the pan-
oramic TV sight with technical vi-
sion. Such a sight is installed in
the BMP for the first time. The
commander has panoramic field-
of-view in azimuth. The field-of-
view in elevation is extended to
60°. The LOS maximal angular ve-
locity increases from 5–6 to 20
degrees per second. This allows
to increase the number of targets
detected by CV in 2.5 times and
also to raise the accuracy of tar-
get designation for the gunner
in 10 times and completely du-
plicate the commander’s opera-
tion as well as to fire against aeri-
al targets in the automatic mode.
Modernization of the BMP-2 an-
swers the purposes of advanced IFVs
in the next 20–30 years, and the
modernized BMP-2 can be success-
fully used till 30–40-ties of the 21st
century.
Modernization of the BMP-2 is
comprehensive and results not on-
ly in ordinary improvement of some
characteristics of the weapon sys-
tem but makes it possible to create
a CV with fundamentally new perfor-
mance, which successfully competes
with other CVs in the military market.
Calculations of the effectiveness
of the improved and organic BMP-2
in combat conditions both as inde-
pendent unit and while supported by
tanks showed that the required num-
ber of vehicles can be reduced by a
factor of 3.8 while keeping the same
level of probability of successful mis-
sion fulfilment.
In terms of lethality the upgrad-
ed BMP-2 reaches the level superior
to the possibly best IFVs like Bradley
(USA) and Marder (Germany). The
technical solutions used in the de-
sign of the Б05Я01 (B05Ya01) fight-
ing compartment allow the BMP-
2 to outperform in terms of com-
bat potential the American M2A2
Bradley IFV by a factor of 2.4 and its
latest upgraded version M2A3 by a
factor of 1.87, and the cost of the
BMP-2 retrofitting is much less.
The new weapon system is a part
of the Б05Я01 fighting compartment,
which, being a part of the BMP-2,
passed all kids of trials with positive
results according to programs coor-
dinated by the Russian MoD. At pres-
ent KBP performs serial production of
the BMP-2 modernized fighting com-
partment.
The main part of the light weight
CVs park of the land forces in some
foreign countries is constituted by
BMP-2 IFVs which are manufactured
at local plants.
The proposed version of BMP-2
modernization was successfully dem-
onstrated outside Russia. In 2004 a
foreign crew trained within a day
and a half conducted firing trials and
showed the results comparable to
those of the Russian crew. The tri-
als were held with the BMP-2K com-
mander’s vehicle, which was re-
equipped by joint efforts of Russian
and foreign specialists within 15 days
at a local plant without preliminary
production preparation.
The Russian party delivered the
FCS, Kornet-E anti-tank guided mis-
sile launchers, grenade launcher
unit and cable set. Foreign special-
ists together with the Russian spe-
cialists dismounted the standard
fighting compartment, upgraded
the armoured cupola, and prepared
mounting seats for installation of the
weapons, FCS units including sights.
The fighting compartment was as-
sembled, adjusted, the acceptance
trials were held and the fighting
compartment was mounted on the
standard chassis of the local-made
BMP-2. After firing at a shooting-
range the upgraded BMP-2 was ac-
cepted. In 2003, 2004 and 2005 the
upgraded BMP-2 successfully passed
demonstration trials in various coun-
tries of the world.
Thus the advantage of the BMP-2
IFVs equipped with the Б05Я01
(B05Ya01) fighting compartment is
high fire power and proven tech-
nology of the BMP-2 modernization.
Moreover, retrofitting of combat
vehicles can be performed not only
at serial-production plants, but al-
so at plants, which repair armoured
vehicles.
Weapon system for armoured vehicles (with kornet-e atgm). Front view.
LAND FORCES
1(51).2010 ● 27
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28 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
INDIA’S ARMS PROCUREMENT
POLICY IN 2009
The terrorist attack in Mumbai
made Indian Government re-
emphasize vital significance
of the state security, enhance pro-
ficiency and equipment level of law
enforcement agencies. Analysis
of the terrorist act roots helped
to expose loopholes in state se-
curity structure and propose a set
of organisational and practical
measures to plug them. The Indian
Government approved overall allo-
cation of 60 billion Indian rupees —
INR (1.25 bn USD) for urgent pro-
curement of arms, military and aux-
iliary equipment.
In December 2008 the Indian
Ministry of Defence proposed
the Indian Navy, Coast Guard and
Army to submit their requests for
urgent equipment acquisitions un-
der the defence capabilities improve-
ment programme. The Indian Interior
Ministry sent similar request to sub-
ordinate paramilitary and police units.
At the initial phase a high priori-
ty is attributed to the procurement
of intelligence, surveillance and data
collection systems, special anti-ter-
rorist equipment designed for spe-
cial-purpose forces, as well as high
precision weapons.
High cost systems are procured by
Indian Coast Guard and Navy (both
agencies were sharply criticised after
the terrorist attack in Mumbai).
In late December 2008 India’s
Minister of Defence A. K. Antony
endorsed the Indian Coast Guard
(ICG) programme for urgent procure-
ment/lease of 80 high-speed inter-
ception boats available then in the
market to carry out efficient patrol-
ling of the national territorial waters,
as well as establishment of six addi-
tional ICG coastal stations.
In January 2009 the Indian
Ministry of Defence issued a re-
quest for proposals on delivering
to the Indian Navy six new medi-
um-range maritime reconnaissance
aircraft to replace 10 obsolete BN-
INDIA’S ARMED FORCES’ WEAPONS MODERNISATION
PROGRAMMES IN 2009
Igor Ilyin
In early 2009 India was estimated to be world’s major arms importer if judged by the confirmed orders
logbook. The terrorist attack occurred in Mumbai on 26 November 2008 provoked even greater surge
in India’s spending on purchases of both indigenous and foreign-origin weapons.
MARKETS
1(51).2010 ● 29
2 Islander maritime patrol aircraft,
and another one on setting up an ef-
ficient three-tier surveillance net-
work in the Indian Ocean Region.
The Indian Coast Guard also plans
to procure six additional maritime
patrol aircraft.
The Indian Navy urgently procure
the first batch of two Israeli-origin
aerostat-based radar systems to im-
prove the Indian Coast Guard’s capa-
bility for low-altitude aircraft detec-
tion/tracking within the range of up
to 500 km. One such system costs ap-
proximately 20–30 million USD. This
is the first contract for the procure-
ment of such systems for Navy's pur-
poses. The Navy has been applying
for the procurement of these radar
systems for a long time, but the ap-
proval is granted just now.
The Indian Air Force also intends
to deploy similar aerostat-based ra-
dar surveillance system to protect
the capital against low-altitude air-
craft intrusion threat. The radars will
transfer the acquired data to air de-
fence missile systems positioned
near New Delhi.
In 2004–2005 India purchased two
aerostat-based radar reconnaissance
systems made by Israeli IAI compa-
ny, equipped with the EL/M-2083
phased array radar providing up
to 500-km target detection range.
In the nearest future India in-
tends to sign a contract for procure-
ment of four additional Israeli-made
aerostat-based reconnaissance sys-
tems capable of detecting enemy
low-flying aircraft, helicopters, un-
manned aerial vehicles, and missiles.
The Indian Air Force plans to procure
up to 13 such systems altogether.
On 17 March 2009 the Indian
Ministry of Defence approved
the programme for urgent procure-
ment of Army weapons and military
equipment, greater part of which
was intended for the Ghatak com-
mando units. Considering urgen-
cy of the supply order, the Ministry
intends to purchase the required
weapons and military equipment
through the mechanism of the US
Foreign Military Sales programme.
At the top of a high-priority items list
one can find general-purpose ma-
chine guns (fitted with night vision
sights), underbarrel grenade launch-
ers, 2,724 night vision sights, 6,908
mirror sights, 612 radio-controlled
detonators, 372 remotely-controlled
fuses (including receivers and trans-
mitters), and 93 special-purpose
parachutes.
Additional acquisit ion
of the Heckler und Koch MP5 subma-
chine guns is planned for comman-
do units.
Besides, the Indian Ministry
of Defence plans to procure new
reconnaissance systems at the cost
of about 3.1 billion USD.
Worsening of relations between
New Delhi and Islamabad frequent-
ly provoked India’s new rearma-
ment planning. In the decade af-
ter the Indo-Pakistani armed conflict
in 1999 in Kargil area, Jammu and
Kashmir, for instance, India procured
abroad an arsenal of weapons and
military equipment worth 25 billion
USD. Besides urgent arms procure-
ments, the near-term purchases also
will be substantially increased com-
pared with previously approved fig-
ures. As a matter of fact, in the com-
ing 2–3 years India is going to pro-
cure weapons and military equip-
ment worth 10 billion USD. India’s
total expenditures in the coming
5 years for purchasing weapons and
military equipment abroad are esti-
mated at 30 billion USD (excepting
urgent procurements).
INDIA’S MILITARY EXPENDITURES
India earmarked defence expen-
ditures for the 2009–2010 fiscal year
(FY) that started on 1 April 2009,
at the amount of 1,417.03 INR (about
28 billion USD). This figure is 34%
greater than appropriations for mili-
tary needs in FY 2008–2009. The de-
fence budget growth is directly coor-
dinated both with the Indian armed
forces’ long-term modernisation
programme and a number of urgent
measures deemed necessary for im-
plementation after the Mumbai ter-
rorist attack.
Indian Minister of Defence A. K. Antoni and the US Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, February 2008
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30 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
The augmentation makes up
361.03 billion INR relative to FY
2008–2009 defence budget fig-
ure of 1056 billion INR approved
by the Parliament. However, in re-
al terms the budget growth is 23.6%
compared with FY 2008–2009, since
during that period additional sums
were allocated for defence purposes,
and the defence expenditures went
up to 1,146 billion INR. Such a signifi-
cant budget increase is explained by
the requirement for strengthening
the national defence in connection
with growing terrorist threats and
tensions in the region.
As in previous years it was
the Indian Army that received
the main part of fund allocations
(41% or 586.48 billion INR). The Indian
Navy received 83.22 billion INR, and
the Air Force 143.18 billion INR.
The capital expenditures amount
to 548.24 billion INR (one can com-
pare it with 410.07 billion INR in the
revised budget for FY 2008–2009).
The Indian Air Force has received
the maximum amount of 200 billion
INR, while Army and Navy have their
share of 177.6795 and 118.7373 bil-
lion INR respectively.
The India’s arms procurement
funds for FY 2009–2010 have
amounted to 11.42 billion USD show-
ing a 14.2% increment from simi-
lar figures in FY 2008–2009 (10 bil-
lion USD).
The Army has received the great-
est part of supplementary arms pro-
curement funding among other mil-
itary services. Funds allocated for
this purpose have been increased by
32.5% — from 2.73 to 3.7 billion USD.
The Indian Army particularly in-
tends to procure 155-mm howit-
zers with the 52-calibre barrel, un-
manned aerial vehicles through
mechanisms of already opened ten-
ders, mobile artillery regiment com-
mand and control posts, additional
quantities of the T-90S main battle
tanks, equipment for special-opera-
tions forces, antitank guided missile
systems, helicopters, cruise missiles,
and combat management systems,
as well as to upgrade the T-72 tanks.
The Indian Air Force receives 4.16
billion USD for arms procurement
which represents a 4.3% increase
compared with 3.98 billion USD
in FY 2008–2009. The Air Force plans
to start initial financing of the 126
medium multi-role fighter procure-
ment programme (the tender for
their delivery is still going on), to pur-
chase unmanned aerial vehicles,
tanker aircraft, helicopters, stand-
off missiles, and upgrade the MiG-29
and Mirage 2000 fighters as well as
air defence missile systems.
The Indian Navy has received 832
billion USD for naval systems pro-
curement, which is a 4.5% increment
compared with 796 billion USD in FY
2008–2009. The Navy’s procurement
plan includes purchases of nuclear-
powered and conventional subma-
rines, surface ships, unmanned aerial
vehicles, air defence missile systems,
heavy torpedoes for diesel-electric
submarines, maritime reconnais-
sance aircraft, and the P-8I Poseidon
maritime patrol aircraft.
Research, development, test and
evaluation activities have been fund-
ed with 776.6 million USD whereas
in FY 2008–2009 it amounted to 644
million USD. The Defence Research
T-90S Bhishma Main Battle Tank
9mm MP5-A4 submachine gun
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1(51).2010 ● 31
and Development Organisation
(DRDO) of the Indian Ministry
of Defence is now conducting de-
velopment works over a broad spec-
trum of defence systems and tech-
nologies, including a ballistic mis-
sile capable of delivering a nuclear
charge over the range of 5,000 km,
cruise missiles, air defence missile
systems, aircraft, helicopters, and un-
manned aerial vehicles.
OVERVIEW OF MAJOR
EVENTS IN INDIA’S MILITARY
COOPERATION WITH FOREIGN
COUNTRIES IN 2009
In 2009 India signed conceptu-
al agreements of great importance
with Russia and the United States
of America that will define her long-
term mutual relations in the field
of foreign military-technical cooper-
ation with both countries.
Russia. On 7 December 2009 Rus-
sian President Dmitry Medvedev and
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh signed joint declaration fol-
lowing the official visit of the Indian
Government’s head. They also atten-
ded signing of intergovernmental
agreements on the military-technical
cooperation programme for the pe-
riod of 2011–2020 and on post-sale
servicing of Russian weapons and mi-
litary equipment supplied to India, as
well as the protocol to the two-state
inter-governmental Agreement on co-
operation in development and produc-
tion of multi-purpose transport aircraft
(dated 12 November 2007).
Moreover, during the Manmohan
Singh’s visit the two Parties came
to a final agreement on the deadlines
and cost of the Admiral Gorshkov air-
craft carrier upgrading, which be-
came the main result of the nego-
tiations. According to the reached
agreement, the total cost of the work
is set at 2.3 billion USD.
USA. India and the USA saw radical
changes in their military-technical
cooperation in 2009. On 20 July 2009,
as a result of negotiations held by US
State Secretary Hillary Clinton during
her official visit, India and the USA
signed in New Delhi the End-user
verification agreement (EUVA) and
Communication interoperability and
security memorandum of agree-
ment (CISMOA) as prerequisites for
protection and control of sensitive
technology transfers in accordance
with the US legislation. It lifted last
restrictions that until then hindered
relations of the two countries in the
military-technical cooperation area.
India consented to substantially
relax restrictions practiced by her
on acquisitions from foreign suppli-
ers in order to speed up implementa-
tion of the major arms sales contract
with the Unites States. The Boeing
Company which in early January
2009 signed an agreement on sup-
ply to the Indian Navy of eight P-8I
maritime patrol aircraft, was freed
from the offset requirement to in-
vest 30% of the contract price in-
to deals on buying goods and ser-
vices in that country. It is a seem-
Boeing F/A-18E/F «Super Hornet» carri-er-based multi-role fighter
Admiral Gorshkov (Vikramaditya) aircraft carrierAdmiral Gorshkov (Vikramaditya) aircraft carrier
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32 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
ingly weighty concession, consider-
ing the total amount of the contract
worth 98 billion INR (2.1 billion USD).
In the long run Boeing wants
to augment substantially its share
in the Indian arms market. At this mo-
ment the company is promoting its
F/A-18E/F aircraft, a contender in the
Indian Air Force’s tender for a medi-
um multi-role fighter. Boeing has al-
so received a request for information
on strategic transport aircraft to be
supplied to the Indian Air Force, and
has sent its proposal for the deliv-
ery of the C-17A Globemaster-3 mili-
tary transport aircraft to the Ministry
of Defence.
After winning the tender for
the delivery of the P-8I Poseidon
maritime patrol aircraft, Boeing plans
to propose the P-8 aircraft as a con-
tender in another contest for the de-
livery of a medium-range maritime
reconnaissance aircraft (MRMRA).
Boeing has offered the CH-47
Chinook helicopter as a contender
in the Indian Ministry of Defence’s
heavy-lift helicopter acquisition pro-
gramme, as well as the AH-64H at-
tack helicopter.
In turn, Lockheed Martin plans
in the near 5 years to conclude de-
fence-related contracts with India
costing more than 15 billion USD.
In 2008 the company signed with
the Indian Ministry of Defence
a contract for delivery of six C-130J
Hercules military transport aircraft
at a total cost of about one billion
USD.
Besides, Lockheed Martin has fo-
cused its efforts on winning in the
Indian Air Force’s tender for delivery
of 126 medium multi-role fighters
In addition, the company
will offer to the Indian Ministry
of Defence military transport air-
craft, helicopters for Navy, and mis-
siles. Lockheed Martin is reportedly
planning to conclude an agreement
on joint production and modernisa-
tion of the AGM-114 Hellfire-2 mis-
siles intended for employment from
land-based and airborne platforms.
Feasibility of establishing joint ven-
tures with Indian state-owned en-
terprises, such as Bharat Electronics
Ltd and Bharat Dynamics Ltd, lead-
ing missile manufacturers, is also
studied by the company.
Lockheed Martin holds talks
with representatives of the Indian
Ministry of Defence on potential de-
liveries of the Sniper target designa-
tor pod, Javelin antitank guided mis-
sile systems, and Longbow system.
In the improved ambience
of Indian-US relationship the compa-
ny has also made offers for the deliv-
ery to India of the most updated ver-
sion of its Partiot PAC-3 anti-air/anti-
ballistic missile system, Aegis combat
management system, and Mk.41 ver-
tical launchers for Navy.
NAVAL ARMS
NAVAL ARMS TENDERS
FOR INDIA’S NAVY
Tender for 6 Non-Nuclear Submarines
The Indian Defense Ministry has
launched the procedure of buy-
ing the next batch of submarines
by issuing the request for six new
diesel-electric submarines under
an international tender. At present,
the Navy and Defense Ministry are
studying preliminary responses from
Rosoboronexport, French company
Armaris, German HDW and Spanish
Navantia. The new batch of diesel-
electric submarines is estimated
at 300 billion rupees.
The Indian Navy wants the next
batch of Project-75A diesel-electric
submarines to have air-indepen-
dent powerplants. The new subma-
rines will feature the stealth technol-
ogy and other promising develop-
ments as well as land-based targets
engagement capability. The subma-
rine should also have vertical missile
launchers. All six submarines will be
built in India in line with the technol-
ogy transfer agreement to be signed
with the winning bidder.
According to Project-75, India’s
Navy plans to further acquire 30 new
diesel-electric submarines.
Lockheed-Martin C-130J «Super Hercules» mili-tary transport
Boeing C-17A «Globe Master III» military transport
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Project 28 Low-Signature Corvettes
Programme
By the end of December 2009,
the Indian Navy planned to is-
sue a tender for constructing four
Project 28 (P-28) stealth antisub-
marine corvettes. India’s Defense
Ministry will let Kockums of Sweden,
part of ThyssenKrupp Marine
Systems, which has a large experi-
ence in building 650-t Visby-class
stealth corvettes as well as Greek
company Intermarine and Kangnam
Corporation take part in the tender.
The first two Project 28 corvettes
that will be soon completed were
equipped with a usual steel sail,
while the further ships of this batch
will possess the sail made of com-
posite materials.
The construction of the leading
P-28 antisubmarine corvette is 80%
complete. Its launching is scheduled
for February 2010. The sail of the sec-
ond ship is 80% complete. The Garden
Reach shipyard has been building
the ships since 2003 after signing
the letter of intent with India. The ini-
tial project implementation period
was violated as the designers were
working on the stealth technology.
The cost of construction in-
creased from 28 billion rupees
(about $600 million) for four Project
28 ships to 70 billion rupees ($1.5 bil-
lion). The leading ship is set for deliv-
ering to the Indian Navy in 2012.
CURRENT PROGRAMMES CARRIED
OUT JOINTLY WITH FOREIGN
COMPANIES
Australia. Licensed Construction of Boats
for the Coast Guard
In February 2009, Indian company
ABG Shipyard ltd. launched a high-
speed interceptor boat for the Indian
Coast Guard.
In June 2006, India’s Coast Guard
made a contract with ABG Shipyard
for building 11 interceptor boats
designed by Australian company
Thorneycroft Maritime & Associates.
One vessel is estimated at 176.3
million rupees (about $3.6 million).
The whole contract is worth 1,939.4
million rupees (about $40.4 million).
All 11 boats are set for delivery by
the end of 2010. In 2008, the compa-
ny provided the Indian Coast Guard
with two boats of this project.
Russia. Modernization of Project 877EKM
Diesel-Electric Submarine
In 2009, Russia continued its
long-term programme of upgrading
India’s Project 877EKM diesel-elec-
tric submarines.
July 2009 saw the signing
of the working protocol for the re-
fit and overhaul of the Project
877EKM Sindhurakshak diesel-elec-
tric submarine at the Zvyozdochka
Ship Repair Centre. The contract
worth $80 million is to be signed
in February-March 2010. The subma-
rine will be delivered to Severodvinsk
by a transport ship in June 2010.
The Zvyozdochka Ship Repair
Centre has already upgraded 4
Project 877EKM diesel-electric
submarines of the Indian Navy. It
keeps on repairing and upgrad-
ing the Sindhukirti submarine in its
base, the port of Visakhapatnam
at Hindustan Shipyard Ltd. The con-
tract for modernizing the Sindhukirti
was signed by Rosoboronexport and
India in September 2002. Its medi-
um repair and overhaul is to be com-
plete in 2011.
In September 2009, the Zvyoz-
doch ka Ship Repair Centre was ap-
pointed general contractor for
the re-equipment of four India’s
diesel-electric submarines. The con-
tract between Rosoboronexport
and India’s Navy provides for equip-
ping four Project 877EKM subma-
rines with Klub-S missile systems
designed by the Novator Design
Bureau. This system will be installed
on the Sindhuratna, Sindhuraj,
Sindhushastra and Sindhuvir sub-
marines. The five-year moderniza-
tion will be implemented at Indian
shipyards.
Instead of six torpedo launch-
ers, four submarines will receive
the Klub-S system with a range
of 200 km as well as advanced Indian
hydroacoustic equipment and radio
communications systems.
Russia. Project 1135.6 Frigates
On November 27, 2009, the Yantar
Baltic Shipyard floated out the first
of three Project 1135.6 missile frigates
built for the Indian Navy. The frig-
Tabar frigate project 1135.6
Visby class corvette
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34 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
ate was named Teg. The programme
stipulates the construction of three
ships for India’s Navy. The rest two
ones still kept on the slipways were
designated Tarkash and Trikand.
The frigates are designed for search-
ing and destroying enemy subma-
rines as well as for antiaircraft and an-
tisubmarine defense.
The first frigate is set for deliv-
ery in the middle of 2011, the sec-
ond one — in late 2011 and the third
one — in 2012.
The $1.6-billion contract for con-
structing three frigates for India’s
Navy was signed on July 14, 2007
in Delhi.
In December 2009, the installa-
tion of weapons systems, namely
two torpedo launchers began on the
Teg frigate. The BrahMos superson-
ic anti-ship missile system had been
mounted before its floating out. Also,
the frigates are equipped with other
advanced air defense and missile sys-
tems, gun mounts and bomb launch-
ers. The first vessel is 70% complete.
Russia. Renting Project 971U Shchuka-B
K-152 Nerpa Nuclear Submarine
The Project 971U Shchuka-B
K-152 Nerpa nuclear submarine
was delivered to the Russian Navy
on December 28, 2009. In September
2009, the third stage of the sub-
marine’s sea trials finished. In ear-
ly November 2008, the inadvertent
occurrence of the fire extinguishing
system happened during Nerpa’s sea
trials and freon filled the compart-
ments killing 20 people. The recov-
ery of the Nerpa submarine cost 1.9
billion rubles. Its repeat tests com-
menced in July 2009.
Under the schedule, the Nerpa
nuclear submarine will be put in ser-
vice with Russia’s Pacific Fleet af-
ter the state acceptance. After that,
the submarine will be leased by
India for 10 years. The contract is
worth $650 million. The hand-over
of the submarine to India’s Navy is
expected to take place no sooner
than April 2010.
France. Scorpen Non-Nuclear Submarine
Construction
India will soon have to pay ex-
tra 20 billion rupees ($410 million)
to French defense companies to pre-
vent further delays in building 6
Scorpen non-nuclear submarines.
The contracts worth 187.98 bil-
lion rupees allowing for building six
Scorpen-class non-nuclear subma-
rines were concluded by the Indian
government with French and Indian
companies in October 2005. It was
initially planned that the first ship
of this series would be built in France
and the rest ones — by Mazagon
Dock Ltd. under the technology
transfer agreement. Later on, it was
decided, however, to manufacture
all the six ships in India. In line with
the contract, the first submarine is
to be delivered in December 2012.
After that, it is planned to commis-
sion one submarine a year. Thus,
the Indian Navy will receive all these
six submarines by December 2017.
K-152 Nerpa nuclear-pow-ered attack submarine of project 971U Shchuka-B
Scorpen-class non-nuclear submarine
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1(51).2010 ● 35
Since December 2006, die-
sel-electric submarines have been
built at Mumbai-based shipbuild-
ing enterprise Mazagon Dock under
a French design. The investigations
show, however, that the first non-nu-
clear submarine will hardly be ready
by the end of 2014.
The French side has demanded
to largely increase the cost of equip-
ment and crucial systems. French
manufacturers have almost doubled
its cost since signing the agreement
in October 2005. The talks on rising
expenses and delivery conditions
of almost all systems except com-
bat ones have been carried out for
over a year. Despite starting the con-
struction of the hulls for diesel-elec-
tric submarines, manufacturing
their internal equipment had not
been agreed as of September 2009.
In August, the defense acquisitions
council asked the government securi-
ty commission to approve the growth
of expenses on French equipment
from €400 to €700 million.
CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS
SIGNED IN 2009
Russia. Renegotiation of Contract for
Admiral Gorshkov Heavy Aircraft Carrier
India will pay $2.3 billion
to Russia for upgrading the Admiral
Gorshkov heavy aircraft carri-
er to the Vikramaditya version.
The initial contract signed by
Rosoboronexport and India’s Defense
Ministry in January 2004 provided for
allocating $974 million for refitting
and re-equipping the ship and $530
million for 16 MiG-29K fighters and
Ka-31 and Ka-27 shipborne antisub-
marine helicopters. It was planned
to deliver the carrier to the Indian
Navy on August 15, 2008.
The refit process, however,
showed that a much larger scope
of works had to be done, which raised
the refit cost, too. Thus, the carri-
er delivery was deferred to 2012.
In addition, Russia asked to increase
the contract cost up to $2.9 billion.
India has already paid about $724
million for upgrading the carrier
in several tranches.
Talks on raising the cost have
been held on different levels since
2007. In February 2008, India agreed
to pay additional $600 million, but
Russian manufacturers said this sum
did not cover all the expenses. The fi-
nal cost was agreed upon during
the visit of Indian Prime-Minister
Manmohan Singh to Moscow in ear-
ly December 2009.
In case of timely funding, Russia
is ready to fulfill the contract obliga-
tions and deliver the carrier no lat-
er than 2012. At present, the ship is
about 60% complete. Its factory tests
will begin in 2010. The Vikramaditya
will become the largest Indian com-
bat ship and is expected to serve for
about 30 years.
Italy. In August 2009, Italian
company Fincantieri declared that
India’s Navy had exercised an op-
tion for building the second ocean-
going refueling ship under the con-
tract signed in October 2008 af-
ter the contest also attended by
Russian and South Korean compa-
nies. The first tanker is set for deliv-
ery by 2010 year-end. The second
one is to be commissioned in the sec-
ond half of 2011.
Fincantieri has already coop-
erated with Indian customers be-
fore. In 2004, it made two contracts
with shipbuilding company Cochin
Shipyard for designing the propul-
sion and transferring its produc-
tion technology as well as render-
ing additional services for the con-
struction of the first Indian air de-
fense carrier. These works are un-
derway now. In addition, Fincantieri
supplied the Indian National
Institute of Ocean Technology with
the Sagar Nidhi oceanographic ship
in late 2007.
Admiral Gorshkov (Vikramaditya) aircraft carrierAdmiral Gorshkov (Vikramaditya) aircraft carrier
MiG-29K carrier-based fighter
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IMPLEMENTATION OF INDIAN
NATIONAL PROGRAMMES IN 2009
Almost all Indian national de-
fense shipbuilding project are be-
ing carried out jointly with foreign
companies.
AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
Aircraft Carrier Programme
In late February 2009, the first
national carrier formerly known as
an air defense carrier was keel laid
at the Cochin Shipyard enterprise.
Design works on this ship began
in 2001–2002. It was initially planned
to start its construction in October
2007 and field it with the Indian Navy
by 2011–2012. The implementation
of this project was, however, de-
ferred due to insufficient experience
of Indian designers and delays in de-
liveries of various parts and materials
that could not be made in India.
Launching the ship was sched-
uled for October 2010 and its field-
ing — for 2016. The carrier’s effective
life will be 50 years. More than 70%
of the design was made by Indian
companies. Besides, the whole ship
will be built by India itself with 70%
of its parts manufactured in India,
too.
According to preliminary estima-
tions, the national carrier will cost
32.61 billion rupees ($640 million),
but this amount is expected to large-
ly increase due to delays in deliveries
and various technical problems.
The first national carrier will rep-
resent a 37,500-t vessel with a length
of 252 m, width of 58 m and draft
of 8.4 m. It will be powered by a gas
turbine propulsion including 4
General Electric LM 2500 turbines
with a total capacity of 108,000 hp
propelling the ship up to 28 knots
(52 km/h) and able to cover 7,500 nm
(13,800 km) at a speed of 18 knots
(33.5 km/h). The carrier will be armed
with two batteries of the Trishul ver-
tical-launch air defense missile sys-
tems and four 76-mm Super Rapid
gun mounts. The deck featuring
STOBAR (short takeoff but arrested
recovery) capability will allow receiv-
ing short and vertical take-off air-
craft including MiG-29K/KUBs and
Harriers.
Under the initial plans, the new
carrier will be able to carry up to 30
aircraft including MiG-29K fight-
ers and Ka-31 helicopters as well as
Indian LCA Tejas light combat aircraft
and improved ALH Dhruv advanced
light helicopters.
Repairing Viraat Carrier
The only carrier remaining in India
dubbed Viraat that was undergo-
ing the overhaul in the dry dock re-
turned to the Navy in autumn 2009.
The overhaul will allow it to be in ser-
vice till 2015.
The Indian Navy required
speeding up returning the carrier
to the Navy due to the delayed de-
livery of the Admiral Gorshkov heavy
carrier. The ship dubbed in India
Vikramaditya was set for delivery
in 2008, but its commissioning was
deferred till 2012 due to technical
and financial reasons.
The Indian Navy expects to ob-
tain the first national aircraft carrier
being built at the Cochin Shipyard
state shipbuilding enterprise in addi-
tion to the Russian ship by 2015. This
will allow discarding the Viraat.
During the refit at Cochin Shipyard,
the Viraat was equipped with a new
fire control system, navigation ra-
dars, improved nuclear, biological and
chemical protection as well as deck
landing facilities. The Russian Kashtan
air defense missile gun system was
sent for repair to Russia. Also, the car-
rier is equipped with the Israeli Barak
air defense missile system and BraMos
anti-ship cruise missiles.
In the long run, India plans to field
up to 6 aircraft carriers.
DESTROYERS
Project-15A Destroyers Programme
In September 2009, Mumbai-
based Mazagon Dock Limited
LCA Tejas fighter
Kamov Ka-31 AEW helicopter
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1(51).2010 ● 37
launched the second of three
Kolkata-class Project-15A stealth de-
stroyers. The ship was named Kochi.
This ship is an improved version
of Delhi-class destroyers being in ser-
vice now. At present, the Indian Navy
has three destroyers of this class
dubbed Delhi, Mysore and Mumbai
built in India under the Project-15
programme.
Mazagon Dock is currently build-
ing three Project-15A destroyers.
The total cost of the project approved
by the Indian government in 2000 is
84.6 billion rupees. The draft design
was elaborated by the Indian Navy’s
Design Department.
The construction of the first
Kolkata-class destroyer under
Project-15A began in September
2003. The vessel was launched
in March 2006 when it was 30% com-
plete. Now, it is being equipped with
needed systems. The third ship was
keel laid in February 2006.
According to initial plans, Project-
15A ships were to enter service with
the Indian Navy in May 2010, 2011
and 2012. Numerous delays, how-
ever, made the manufacturer defer
the delivery of the first destroyer
for 3 years till 2013. The reasons in-
clude insufficient funding of propul-
sion and shafts acquisition and tech-
nical problems with weapons sys-
tems, sensors and fire control system.
Project-15B Destroyers Programme
In April 2009, the Indian Defense
Acquisition Council approved build-
ing four new Project-15B destroyers
under the Indian Navy Modernization
Programme. This project is the evo-
lution of Project-15A allowing for
the construction of Kalkota-class de-
stroyers at the Mazagon Dock ship-
yard.
The contract will be signed with
Mazagon Dock in the nearest future,
though the ship design has not been
created yet. Four new stealth ships
built under the national project are
expected to have land-based target
engagement capability.
Considering delays in Project-
15A, Project-15B will be probably de-
ferred till a later term, too if the Navy
fails to finish design works in time
and place orders for parts and ma-
terials with a large production time.
Viraat R22 air-craft carrier
INS Kochi Kolkata class (Project 15A) destroyer
One of three Kolkata class (Project 15A) destroyers at Mazagon Dock Ltd slipway in Mumbai, 2008
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38 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
The key components for Project-
15B ships including the propulsion
have not been chosen yet. The con-
siderable part of designers want
to use General Electric LM-2500 gas
turbine powerplants and Western
control systems as in case of Shivalik-
class frigates being built under
Project 17. Some experts, howev-
er, insist that Ukrainian propulsion
should be installed.
To take the final decision,
Mazagon Dock has issued a tender
for detailed research and propos-
als on adjusting the ship machinery
compartment for LM-2500 turbines
instead of DT-59 gas turbines and
RG-54 transmission made by Zorya-
Mashproekt. The bid winner will
work out the project and will deliv-
er the needed equipment. The bid-
ders are represented by US Alion
Science and Technology, French
DCNS, Italian Fincantieri and German
ThyssenKrupp Marine System.
The strong point of US-designed
turbines is their assembling at the
HAL-owned plant.
The Indian Navy’s authorities ex-
pect Mazagon Dock to tell them
the cost of Project-15B, after which
the sides will hold talks to agree
on the final conditions. There were
plans to sign the official contract by
the end of 2009.
FRIGATES
Project-17 Frigates Programme
The sea trials of the leading
Project-17 frigate dubbed Shivalik
were to start in April 2009 eight and
a half years after starting its con-
struction. The ship is to be deliv-
ered to the Indian Navy in May or
June 2010. The tests, however, began
three months later due to the sus-
pension of installing LM2500 gas tur-
bines on the first of three Project-17
multifunctional frigates by General
Electric.
The frigate design was creat-
ed by the Surface Ships Group
of the Indian Navy’s Design
Department. The Indian govern-
ment approved starting design
works in 1997, but the contract for
building three ships was signed on-
ly in early 1999. The construction be-
gan two years later due to changing
specifications and problems with im-
porting D-40 steel for the ship hull
from Russia. Mazagon Dock start-
ed building the first frigate named
Shivalik on the basis of the Talvar-
class upgraded frigate on July 11,
2001. In April 2003, the vessel was
launched. Building the second frig-
ate Satpura began in 2002 and it was
launched on June 4, 2004. The third
ship dubbed Sahyadri was keel-laid
on March 17, 2003 and launched
on May 27, 2005.
The long process of equipping
the leading ship was explained
by the need to develop a num-
ber of new technologies and ad-
just the ship to new configurations
of weapons systems.
In particular, the Kashtan short-
range air defense missile gun system
was replaced by the combination
of the Barak air defense missile sys-
tem, AK-630M gun mount and mis-
sile detection radar, which required
not only altering the ship design but
additional design studies for com-
munications, power supply and dis-
tribution systems.
The final weapons configuration
includes one 76-mm Oto Melara
Super Rapid gun mount, two RBU-
6000 antisubmarine rocket launch-
ers with Purga fire control system,
one 3S90 launcher of the Shtil me-
dium-range air defense missile sys-
tem and 8-container 3S14E vertical
launcher for Klub-N missiles with
the 3R-14N-17 fire control system.
In addition, the ship has four
vertical launchers for the Barak-1
short-range air defense missile, two
AK-630M shipborne artillery sys-
tems as well as CSN-56 Kavach trap
launchers. Reconnaissance and de-
tection systems include the Fregat
M2EM three-dimensional radar
with a detection range of 360 km
designed for the Shtil air defense
missile system, Garpun BAL-E ra-
dar for the Klub system, at least
INS Tabar F44 frigate of Talwar class
INS F47 Shivalik, the lead ship of her class, project 17 frigateINS F47 Shivalik, the lead ship of her class, project 17 frigate
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1(51).2010 ● 39
one EL/M-2221 search, tracking
and targeting radar, two Rashmi
I-band navigation radars by Bharat
Electronics and, probably, Scout ra-
dar by Thales. Also, four Orekh tar-
get designation radars for the Shtil
system are available.
The Project 17 frigate features
low radar, infrared and acoustic sig-
nature. The Shivalik will become
the first Indian ship able to use heli-
copters at a sea state of up to 6.
Mazagon Dock plans to deliv-
er the rest two frigates of the series,
Satpura and Sahyadri, to the Indian
Navy by 2010 year-end (the ships will
be probably delivered a year later).
Project-17A Frigate Programme
In June 2009, India’s Defense
Ministry approved the project
of building seven stealth frigates by
national shipbuilding companies. Its
cost is estimated at 450 billion ru-
pees ($9.24 billion).
The Defense Acquisition Council
of the Indian government also ap-
proved this project declaring that
the Project-17A programme should
be carried out by state shipbuild-
ing companies Mazagon Dock and
Garden Reach.
The programme of developing
and building Project-17A stealth frig-
ates is part of the Navy’s plans to re-
ceive next-generation ships and
further development of Project-17
Shivalik multifunctional frigates.
The Project-17 programme allows
for the construction of 12 ships
in total.
It is planned that the Indian
Navy will get the first stealth frig-
ate of the new project 3-4 years after
finishing deliveries of Shivalik-class
frigates.
In December 2007, India’s Navy
sent a request for deliveries of new
stealth frigates to nine leading
shipbuilding companies includ-
ing Russian, French, Italian, South
Korean, Spanish and US companies.
It was initially planned that two
leading Project-17A ships would be
built by a foreign shipbuilding com-
pany and the rest five — in India
under a technology transfer agree-
ment. Official sources, however, say
the DAC has not approved these
proposals.
Nevertheless, experts say a for-
eign shipbuilding company should
take part in the project as the frig-
ates will be built by a modular meth-
od with ship sections built separate-
ly and then put together. Choosing
the foreign subcontractor, which will
transfer this modular construction
technology to Indian shipbuilders,
India’s Defense Ministry is consid-
ering sending requests for propos-
als (specification) to French compa-
ny DCNS, Italian Fincantieri, South
Korean Hyundai, Spanish Navantia,
US Northrop Grumman and an un-
specified Russian shipyard.
The rarely high cost of con-
struction ($1.3 billion) is explained
by considerable investments into
the modernization of production fa-
cilities of Indian companies needed
to manufacture ships by the modu-
lar method.
TANK LANDING SHIPS
Construction of Four Landing Platform
Docks
The Indian Defense Ministry plans
to build four landing platform docks
(LPD), which should join the Austin-
class LPD-14 Trenton helicopter-car-
rying landing platform dock bought
from the US Navy for $48.44 mil-
lion in 2007 and dubbed Jalashwa.
In the nearest 1-2 years the Indian
Navy plans to finish designing
the LPD with characteristics similar
to Jalashwa and ask the government
to approve building a helicopter-car-
rying landing platform dock.
Tank Landing Ships Programme
In May 2009, the Indian Navy
fielded the fifth tank landing ship —
the Magar-class large tank landing
ship dubbed Airavat. Its construction
cost some $100 million.
Deck of INS F47 Shivalik. S14E eight-con-tainer vertical launcher for Club-N missiles is clearly seen.
Helicopter han-gars on NS F47 Shivalik frigate
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The vessel was keel laid in Kolkata
at the Garden Reach enterprise
in 2004 and launched on March 27,
2006. The ship is the fifth tank land-
ing ship built in India and the third
ship of the improved Shardul class.
The leading Magar-class tank
landing ship was designed and built
in India in 1984 and put into ser-
vice in 1987. It is based on US tank
landing ships and the British Sir
Lancelot-class vessel. The second
ship named Garial entered service
in 1991. In December 2001, a con-
tract for building three new tank
landing ships was signed. Two
ships of this class dubbed Shardul
and Kesari were built under an im-
proved project and launched
in April 2004 and June 2005, re-
spectively. The Shardul leading ship
was put into service with the Indian
Navy in January 2007. The second
ship dubbed Kesari entered service
in January 2009.
The third ship, a more advanced
version of Magar-class ships, was
also designed for amphibious op-
erations. It features modern weap-
ons and radar systems and radically
changed design.
In addition, in 2007, India bought
Austin-class LPD-14 Trenton helicop-
ter-carrying landing platform dock
dubbed Jalashwa removed from ser-
vice in the US.
SUBMARINES
Nuclear Submarines Programme
On July 26, 2009, the first national
nuclear submarine dubbed Arihant
was launched at the naval base
of Visakhapatnam. The submarine
was designed under the Advanced
Technology Vessel (ATV) programme.
Its development and construction
is estimated at 300 billion rupees
($6.24 billion). Indian defense min-
istry sources say it will enter service
in two years.
The Arihant is the leading of three
nuclear submarines, which construc-
tion was approved by Indian author-
ities. Assembling hulls of the second
and third submarines has already
been finished and their stuffing with
various equipment will soon start
in the dry dock. The submarines will
be fielded in 2015-2017. In addition,
Indian authorities have approved
plans to build another two nuclear
submarines of this type.
The Arihant was jointly developed
and manufactured by the Indian
Defense Ministry’s Defense Research
& Development Organization, Navy,
Department of Atomic Energy and
private defense company Larsen &
Toubro.
Navy sources say this nuclear sub-
marine will carry 12 vertical-launched
missiles (perhaps Sagarika) and tor-
pedo launchers. It will have a maxi-
mum submerged speed of 24 knots
and a crew of about 100 people.
The prototype of the Sagarika
nuclear submarine-launched ballis-
tic missile was successfully tested
in February 2008. As India’s Navy
does not have any nuclear subma-
rines so far, the missile was launched
from a dedicated underwater plat-
form (the exact copy of the sub-
marine) near India’s south-eastern
coast not far from Visakhapatnam.
Its operational range is 700 km.
Nevertheless, it is still unknown
whether Sagarika is a ballistic or
a cruise missile.
The launched nuclear submarine
is already equipped with a power-
plant, vertical missile launchers and
torpedo tubes. The next stage will
include checking the 80-MW nu-
clear reactor created jointly with
Russia.
Purchase of Home-Made Small Diesel-
Electric Submarines
India plans to buy five small
home-made submarines that should
protect Indian coast from terrorist
attacks. Small submarines will enter
service with the special operation
forces. Their crew will be 4-6 people.
The submarines will be able to dive
deep into the sea. Besides, they can
be remotely controlled and will be
capable of attacking the enemy with
torpedoes. Perhaps, India will dou-
ble the order for such submarines
and raise their total amount up to 10.
INS L16 Shardul amphibious warfare vessel
INS Jalashva (L41) amphibi-ous transport dock
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BOATS AND PATROL SHIPS
Saryu-Class NOPV Naval Offshore Patrol
Vessels
On November 14, 2009, the Goa
Shipyard enterprise launched
the second of four Saryu-class NOPV
offshore patrol ships ordered by
the Indian Navy.
The vessel is the version
of the Coast Guard’s Sankalp-class
AOPV advanced offshore patrol ves-
sel adjusted for combat operations
on the sea. Its main tasks are patrol-
ling territorial sea, controlling sea
routes, reconnaissance operations,
protection of offshore oil fields and
escort operations.
The ship dubbed Sunaina was
keel-laid in September 2007. It is ex-
pected that installing its equipment
will be over by the second quarter
of 2011.
The Indian government ap-
proved the construction of three
NOPV ships in March 2005 and in-
cluded an option for building
the fourth one, which was realized
in 2006. The keel of the leading ship
was laid in the end of 2006. Cutting
steel for the third vessel began
in 2008. The Saryu is to enter ser-
vice with India’s Navy in 2010.
Construction of AOPV Ships for Coast
Guard
In January 2009, India’s Coast
Guard fielded the sixth AOPV
Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel
of Sankalp class designed and built
by Goa Shipyard Ltd.
The patrol ship dubbed Samrat
is the sixth AOPV ship and the sec-
ond one built under the Sankalp
project. It is the largest and most
advanced ship in service with
the Indian Coast Guard. The lead
ship of Sankalp class entered ser-
vice in May 2008.
AOPV ships are being built for
the Coast Guard by Goa Shipyard.
The ships are manufactured fully
in India employing advanced tech-
nologies.
Car Nicobar Class Patrol Ships
Construction Programme
In September 2009, the Indian
Navy received two Car Nicobar-class
WJFAC (Water Jet Fast Attack Crafts)
patrol ships. The Cora Divh (T-71)
and Cheriyam (T-72) ships became
the third and fourth ships of the im-
proved series built by Garden Reach.
The first two vessels named Car
Nicobar (T-69) and Chetlat (T-70) en-
tered service with the Indian Navy
in February 2009.
The Car Nicobar project is an im-
proved version of Bangaram-class
(SDB Mk.5) large patrol ships also
built by Garden Reach. Six ships
of this class reaching a speed of 30
knots were put into service from
August 2001 to September 2006.
By October 2010, Garden Reach
should deliver 10 Car Nicobar-class
ships to the Indian Navy. Three
ships are under construction now,
of which two were set for delivery
to the Indian Navy in December
2009. Each vessel costs about 500
million rupees.
Garden Reach is also building
eight offshore patrol boats of this
class for the Indian Coast Guard and
has already delivered 13 5-t and 12-
t patrol vessels to various law-en-
forcement bodies. After the terror-
ist attack on Mumbai, India’s Interior
Ministry ordered 78 fast interceptor
boats totally worth $26.760 million
to patrol India’s coastline including
48 12-t and 30 5-t vessels.
ADVANCED PROJECTS
USA. Lockheed Martin is negotiat-
ing with India’s Navy representatives
on the possible installation of the Ijis
air/missile defense system on Indian
combat ships and its possible inte-
gration with home-made weapons
systems.
ICGS Sankalp advanced offshore patrol vessel (AOPV) (46)
ICGS Samrat advanced off-shore patrol vessel (AOPV) (47)
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ARMY EQUIPMENT
ARTILLERY SYSTEMS TENDER BY
INDIA’S DEFENSE MINISTRY
Modernization of field cannons
Modernization of field cannons
is a major program of the Indian
Army. According to the field artil-
lery modernization plan, the Indian
Army plans to import ready kits to as-
semble 3,600 howitzers somewhere
between 2020 and 2025. The new
equipment will consist primarily
of 155 mm\52 cal towed, wheeled
and tracked cannons as well as
140 155 mm\39 cal ultralight how-
itzers. Additionally, the Army plans
to keep 400 45-caliber FH-77Bs and
180 Russian-made 130 mm М-46
Russian-made field cannons, which
have been recently upgraded by
Israel’s Soltam Systems to 155 mm/39
cal. The total value of the deal to sup-
ply cannons meant to re-equip of up
to 220 Indian artillery regiments can
reach $7 billion.
The Indian Defense Ministry post-
ed a tender for superlight, towed and
self-propelled howitzers in February
2008 to modernize and standardize
its artillery inventory mainly com-
prised of Soviet-made pieces.
Towed artillery system tender
The Indian Defense Ministry post-
ed a tender for 400 155 mm/52 cal
towed howitzers in February 2008.
The deal will include an option for li-
censed production of 1,800 cannons
in India.
Eight companies were invited
to take part in the tender. In January
2009, foreign companies submitted
rival bids to supply the Indian Army
with 155 mm/52 cal towed howitzers.
A following evaluation showed that
only the offers made by BAE Systems
and ST Kinetics met the Indian
Army’s requirements.
In June 2009, however, Singa-
po re’s ST Kinetics was blacklist-
ed by the Indian Central Bureau
of Investigation (CBI) besides oth-
er six companies for alleged involve-
ment in a corruption case featur-
ing an Indian defense enterprise’s
top manager. ST Kinetics was on the
investigation list along with Israel’s
IMI, Singapore’s Media Architects,
Poland’s BVT, Indian TS Kishan, RK
International Machine Tools and HYT
Engineering. The Defense Ministry
announced a temporary halt in the
negotiations. The towed howitzer
tender was therefore suspended for
around half a year while the tests
were initially scheduled for the sum-
mer of 2009.
It was as late as December 2009
that the Indian government decid-
ed to admit the Singaporean compa-
ny to tests which now have to take
place before mid-2010. The Indian
defense Ministry announced, how-
ever, that even if ST Kynetics wins, no
contract is going to be signed un-
til the CBI finishes its investigation
and all allegations are cleared. No ex-
pected date of investigation comple-
tion have yet been announced.
ST Kynetics offered the FH 2000
155mm\52 cal towed howitzer.
The gun, firing 155mm NATO rounds,
weighs 13.5 tons and has a maxi-
mum towing speed of 80 km\h.
The FH 2000 can fire M107 shells and
ERFB Base Bleed rounds at 19 km and
40 km, respectively, and has a rate
of fire of 3 three shells per 15 sec-
FH-2000 155mm towed howitzer
INS Cankarso fast attack craft of Car Nikobar class (T73)
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1(51).2010 ● 43
onds to 20 seconds, while its practi-
cal rate of fire is two rounds per min-
ute within half an hour.
Ultralight howitzer tender
The Indian Defense Ministry post-
ed a tender for 140 155mm/39 cal
ultralight howitzers in February
of 2008. The contract, which could
amount to $740 million, is meant
to equip two new alpine divisons
with guns capable of supporting
Army operations in mountainous
areas. The Singapore Technologies
Kynetics (ST Kynetics) has been
the top contender until recently.
The project, however, showed
nearly no progress in 2009 due
to the current CBI investigation in-
volving ST Kynetics.
The delay in the Indian Defense
Ministry’s ultralight howitzer acqui-
sition program allowed BAE Systems
to compete for the tender, offer-
ing the 155mm M 777. Although
the company had decided earlier not
to offer the M 777 for the 155mm ul-
tralight howitzer tender by India’s
defense Ministry posted in February
2008 as it supposed to be failing
to meet all the requirements, it has
resumed negotiations. The current
investigation involving ST Kynetics
has made the situation rather favor-
able for BAE Syetems, as no other
company in the world now can put
forward an alternative offer.
ST Kynetics offered a the Pegasus
155mm\39cal light towed howitzer
largely made of light alloys. The gun
weighs 5.400 kg and has a maximum
towing speed of 50 km\h and re-
quires a crew of 6. The system can
be carried by either C-130s or heavy-
lift helicopters. The Pegasus can fire
any standard NATO round, including
M107s and ERFB Base Bleed rounds
delivered at distances of up to 19 km
and 30km, respectively. The gun has
a rate of fire of 3 rounds in 24 sec-
onds, a maximum rate of fire of 4
rounds per minute within aperiod
of three minutes and a combat rate
of 2 rounds per minute within half
an hour. To-date, the Pegasus is oper-
ated only by the Singaporean Armed
Forces. This gun is able to change
fire positions at a speed of up to 12
km\h with the help of a 21 kilowatt
diesel engine.
The investigation was bad news
for the Singaporean company which
delivered the howitzers and test-rel-
evant equipment by a hired C-130
Hercules in late May of 2009. By
the time the negotiations were halt-
ed, ST Kynetics had finished deploy-
ment of the systems.
The 155mm M 777 howitzer, de-
veloped by BAE Systems to replace
the outdated M 198s, has better per-
formance and has half the weight
of the latter. The Ti and Al alloys
have helped to reduce the howit-
zer’s weight to just 4,218 kg. The M
777 has a length of 10.2 m in fire po-
sition. Less weight means more mo-
bility, allowing the howitzer to be
transported not only by C-130s, but
by medium-lift helicopters as well,
which is important as the latter are
on the list of India’s planned acquisi-
tions. The M 777 includes a new dig-
ital fire control system (DFCS) but
fires the same rounds as its prede-
cessor along with modern satellite-
guided projectiles.
Self-propelled howitzer tender
The Indian Defense Ministry put
out a tender for 120 155mm/52 cal
towed and self-propelled howitzers.
In February 2008.
In January 2009, foreign compa-
nies submitted their offers.
The project’s value totals $2 bil-
lion. Although prototype tests were
scheduled for the summer of 2009,
they are most likely to have been
postponed.
CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS
SIGNED IN 2009
France. In January 2009, the MBDA
company confirmed reports that
it had signed an agreement with
the Indian Defense Ministry
in December 2008 to continue li-
M-777 155mm howitzer
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44 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
censed production of. The validi-
ty period of the new agreement is
4 years. The order was contracted
to Bharat Dynamics Ltd. The Indian
Army are planning an additional pur-
chase of 4,100 MILAN 2T anti-tank
guided missile systems. The contract
price is Rs 5.92 billion ($121.3 million).
The contract stipulates that most
of the component parts be manufac-
tured by Bharat Dynamics Ltd along-
side with other Indian companies.
Bharat Dynamics is also responsi-
ble for the final assembly of the anti-
tank missiles. MBDA will supply some
of warhead components.
The Indian Army has been operat-
ing MILAN AT missile systems since
1981. The second generation AT mis-
sile with a range of 2 km is license-
manufactured by Bharat Dynamics
Ltd for infantry units and combat
vehicles. In late December 2007,
India abandoned the plan to pro-
duce the MILAN ER systems with
an extended range in cooperation
with France after having evaluated
the field test results. It was reported
that in 2008, India signed a Rs 13.8
billion (around $300 million) con-
tract for 15,000 Russian-designed
Konkurs-M AT missile systems
by Bharat Dynamics. Production
of Russian-designed Konkurs-M
AT missiles was also contracted
to Bharat Dynamics Ltd.
The decision to buy a significant
number of MILAN 2Ts was first an-
nounced by Deepak Kapoor, Chief
of Staff of the Indian Army, at a con-
ference of the Indian Army and
Defense Ministry leaders in May
2008.
The MILAN 2T, developed by
MBDA, is fitted with a tandem charge
warhead allowing it to go through
modern reactive armor. The modi-
fied MILAN 2T, equipped with an im-
proved solid-propellant engine, tan-
dem charge warhead and a new con-
trol system, has a range of 2000 m
and a launch weight of 12 kg. Its
warhead weighs 3 kg. A MILAN AT
missile launcher requires a two-man
crew and can be mounted on a tri-
pod, a tank or another kind of an ar-
mored vehicle.
STATUS OF INDIA’S NATIONAL
PROGRAMS IN 2009
Modernization of 155mm FH 77B\39 cal
howitzers
The protracted moderniza-
tion of Indian Army-operated
390 155mm\39 cal FH-77B howit-
zers supplied by Bofors to 45 cali-
ber is facing a failure risk because
of the high requirements put for-
Milan-2 anti-tank missile systemMilan-2 anti-tank missile system
Pegasus 155mm how-itzer
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1(51).2010 ● 45
ward by the Indian Army’s Artillery
Command.
India acquired the guns in 1987
and still keeps a total of 410 FH-
77Bs, intending to expand their ef-
fective range and add a capability
to fire heavier rounds. Upgrades will
include replacement of the barrel
and breech, strengthening of the un-
dercarriage as well as installation
of modern sights.
Despite some Artillery Directorate
members saying that the such a goal
is almost impossible, the Army com-
mand has no authority to modify
the specifications, which is the pre-
rogative of the Defense Minister.
Detailed specifications made
up by the Defense Ministry in 2006
remain unfulfilled. In early 2009,
the Ministry issued a modified list
of requirements, but BAE Systems,
the manufacturer of FH-77Bs, said it
was unable to meet them.
Out of 12 private Indian compa-
nies authorized to manufacture de-
fense-oriented products, only TATA
and Ordnance Factories Board (OFB)
responded to the initiative. The top
privately-owned defense compa-
ny was among those who refused
to participate.
Today, the Bofors-manufactured
155mm\39 cal FH-77B howitzer is
the most advanced artillery system
with the Indian Army. The $1.2 bil-
lion (Rs 14 billion) worth deal to de-
liver 410 such guns was signed
by the Induian government and
the Swedish company on March 24,
1986.
A corruption controversy sparked
by the deal still haunts Bofors
20 years after, preventing the com-
pany from getting a contract to sup-
ply field guns to India. Although
the FH 77B05 L52 offered by Bofors
was the only contender in 2006 af-
ter the Israeli Soltam Systems and
South African Denel were excluded,
Defence Minister A.K. Antony decid-
ed to hold another tender.
Nag AT missile system
The Nag anti-tank missile sys-
tem went into mass production after
stage two of its final acceptance tri-
als met with success in the Rajasthan
Desert in August of 2009.
Introduction of the missile in the
Army was expected to begin by
the end of 2009.
The Nag AT missile was devel-
oped by DRDO in Hyderabad as part
of the Integrated Guided Missile
Development Program (IGMDP)
launched in 1983. The program was
aimed at developing a range of next
generation missiles including Akash
medium-range and Trishul short-
range surface-to-air missiles. Field
tests of the Nag AT missile began
in November of 1990.
The missiles will be produced by
the state-owned Bharat Dynamics,
which is expected to manufacture
200 units over the first produc-
tion year. The output will be raised
twofold over the following peri-
od. The Indian Army needs a total
of 4,000 AT missiles.
The Nag AT missile will be fit-
ted on armored combat vehi-
cles and Army helicopters. In addi-
tion to the mobile version mount-
ed on the NAMICA Nag missile ar-
mored carrier fitted with 12 missiles,
out of which 8 fire-ready, the Nag
family will include the Helina missile
meant to be carried on ALH Dhruv
advanced light helicopters. After
the land-based version is fully de-
veloped, DRDO will focus on improv-
ing and testing of the airborne vari-
ant, which is planned to be mount-
ed on a helicopter, carrying 8 mis-
siles in two launchers. Initial tests
of the airborne version are expect-
FH-77B 155mm howitzer
Akash medium-range SAM
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46 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
ed to begin in late 2009. The Helina
AT missile will have a range of 7 km,
a capability that the land-based Nag
is expected to have after future mod-
ernization.
MLRS Pinaka upgrade program
The Armament Research and
Development Establishment (ARDE)
is working on an advanced MLRS
Pinaka variant.
The Pinaka multiple-launch rock-
et system was developed in 1983
by Indian companies supervised by
ARDE to replace the Soviet-made
BM-21 Grads. The first prototype was
ready by 1994, with tests starting
in 1995. In 2000, the Indian Army
raised the first regiment equipped
with three batteries of Pinaka
launchers, each battery compris-
ing six pieces along with support
units. Production is currently un-
der way to equip another regiment
as well. Simultaneously, research is
being performed to improve both
the launcher and the missiles.
A standard MLRS has a range
of between 39 km and 40 km and
can fire a salvo of 12 rockets in 44
seconds, covering an area of 3.9
square kilometers. The missiles can
be fitted with a variety of warheads
thus enabling the MLRS to destroy
rugged installations.
ARDE announced that it is cur-
rently developing a MLRS-fired 7.2
meter-long guided missile capa-
ble of delivering a 250 kg warhead
at a distance from 70 km to 120 km.
Umanned aerial vehicles are planned
to be used to increase the firing ac-
curacy. The new missile is expected
to be displayed in 2011 and adopted
by the military in 2012.
The Pinaka, built on the chassis
of a license-produced Tatra-815 8x8
prime mover, has a combat weight
of 8 tons and is operate by a five-
men crew. The system fires 214mm
4.95m-long non-guided rockets
weighing 276 kg each. Every rocket
has a 100kg warhead. A Pinaka bat-
tery is made up of 6 launchers, six
loaders and a command station fur-
nished with a digital fire control sys-
tem and a weather radar.
INDIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY’S
ARMORED VEHICLE TENDERS
Tender for 500 new APCs
To increase the capability
of the Army mechanized units, India
plans to buy 100 infantry fighting ve-
hicles to operate in variable terrain
regions.
The Indian Army posted a tender
to buy at least 100 IFVs, with the pro-
duction of the rest of the planned
500 to be licensed to an Indian com-
pany as part of a technology trans-
fer deal.
According to India’s Ministry
of Defense, the Army wants to re-
ceive over 500 new APCs within
five years to add to their inventory
consisting of 1,500 Russian-designed
BMP-1s and BMP-2s.
To-date, the Indian Army has
26 mechanized infantry battalions
equipped with APCs with a capaci-
ty of 10 soldiers each. Some of those
vehicles are also fitted with AT guid-
ed missile launchers.
According to the Indian Army’s re-
quirements, the new APCs are to be
air-transportable by both the cur-
rently operated Il-76s and the C-130J,
which are now being acquired.
The weight and size of the new
APCs should allow them to be trans-
ported by landing craft including
the Jalashwa amphibious transport
dock, originally Austin-class LPD-14
Trenton, and Airavat-class tank land-
ing ships.
Light tank tender
The Indian Army is seeking to ac-
quire 300 light tanks to increase its
capabilities in mountain areas over
3000 m above the sea level border-
ing on China and Pakistan. The Indian
military needs tanks able to oper-
Pinaka Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher SystemPinaka Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher System
Namica mobile platform (Nag anti-tank mis-sile system on idigenous armored vehi-cle)
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1(51).2010 ● 47
ate in urban and rural conditions,
on mountain, desert and swampy
terrain and in coastal areas to ensure
superiority over a nuclear enemy.
An international tender is aimed
at acquiring 200 wheeled and 100
light tracked tanks weighing up
to 22 tons. Responses to the request
are due to be submitted to the Indian
Defense Ministry by October 30, 2009.
The light tank platform should
feature modern communications
and reconnaissance equipment. It
is also has to be highly mobile and
able to incorporate various modules
to ensure operability in a variety
of conditions and regions.
The tender stipulates that the tank
be fit to carry multirole weapon sys-
tems including a cannon and a mis-
sile system to provide enough capa-
bility in peace enforcement missions
during high-intensity conflicts.
Wheeled (preferably 8x8) and
tracked light tanks should have
a height and length not exceeding
2.8 m and 7.8 m, respectively, a low
profile and high clearance. Tanks
should also offer a floating capability
and all-weather, night and day oper-
ability. The equipment sets must in-
clude protection systems against la-
ser, infrared and radar homing weap-
ons as well as NBC protection.
By now, most of the Indian Army’s
64 armor regiments operate T-72M1
and T-90S tanks, totaling 2,800 piec-
es. Around 11 regiments still ride up-
graded T-55s, which are being grad-
ually replaced by T-90S and modern-
ized T-72M1 MBTs.
As for light tanks, they are most
likely to be supplied to the two
mountain divisions meant for de-
ployment along the Chinese border
in India’s north-east. Light tanks are
easier to transport and thus to rede-
ploy between regions with different
climate and terrain.
Between 90 and 100 light tanks
may be supplied to two new ar-
mor regiments, with another 200
joining the reconnaissance regi-
ments of the two main strike corps
of the Indian Army stationed sta-
tioned in Ambala (200 km north
of Delhi) and Jansi (400 km south-
east of the capital).
LBPV tender for National Guard
The Indian National Guard’s ten-
der for light bullet proof vehicles
(LBPVs) received offers from seven
companies. No information is yet
available on the exact number of ve-
hicles to be supplied.
Three offers were reported
to have made it to the final stage
of the competition, including
the new 4х4 light patrol armored car
TUR 3 designed by Polish AMZ Kutno.
The TUR 3 vehicle was present-
ed by Vectra, a partner of Poland’s
Metaleksport-S, which represents
AMZ Kutno in India. If the Tur wins
the competition, Vectra will be
the main contractor to license-pro-
duce over 500 such armored fighting
vehicles (AFVs) in India.
The offered vehicles were put
to an extreme conditions test
in Kashmere in 2009. No informa-
tion is available on the two other ve-
hicles, though. The two unknown
finalists, however, are most likely
to include the American company
Arotech. The winner will be selected
until the end of 2009.
NEGOTIATIONS AND INTENTIONS
Great Britain. In January of 2009,
India’s Ministry of Finance accept-
ed an application by Mahindra and
Mahindra and Britain’s BAE Systems
to create a joint venture to devel-
op and manufacture defense prod-
ucts for both Indian domestic mar-
ket and export.
The companies are allowed
to invest Rs 289.4 million ($6 mil-
lion) in the enterprise. According
to the Indian regulations on direct
foreign investments, the Indian com-
pany will hold a 74 per cent share
Sarat BMP-2 infantry fighhting vehicle
T-55 Main Battle Tank
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48 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
in the JV, while BAE Systems will get
a 26 per cent stake.
The previous application sub-
mitted by the two companies was
rejected by the Finance Ministry’s
Commission on Foreign Investments
in October of 2008, as BAE Systems
was willing to get 49 per cent
of the new company’s shares, which
contradicted the actual standards.
Following the law, the Indian govern-
ment made no exception in that case.
The new JV will be headquartered
in Delhi, while manufacturing assets
will be in Faridabad. BAE Systems and
Mahindra and Mahindra planned
to finalize the enterprise’s structure
and begin production by the end
of 2009.
Initially, the new company will
be busy manufacturing add-on ar-
mor for Rakshak AFVs and assem-
bling Axe all-terrain cars alongside
with developing landmine-resistant
vehicles for the Indian Armed Forces.
On its part, BAE Systems is planning
to cooperate with Mahindra and
Mahindra to assembly RG-31 Nyala
vehicles in Indian territory .
BAE Systems has already deliv-
ered 165 Casspir APCs to India’s mil-
itary.
USA. The MDT Armor Corp.
of the U.S.-based Arotech an-
nounced in August of 2009 the com-
pletion of the development com-
pletion of a new C8 LWAV (Light
Weight Armored Vehicle) meant
for the Indian market. The India-
based Concord Safety Systems joint
venture, created by U.S. company
Arotech and co-founded by MKU,
India’s major armor manufactur-
er, and car body maker JN Group,
was offered to take part in the com-
petition to supply armored vehi-
cles to the Indian Army. Arotech de-
signed the C8 LWAV light armored
vehicle for the tender. The first pro-
totypes were made by Concord
Safety Systems in Dehradun, India.
In the fall of 2009, the AFVs un-
derwent field trials with the Indian
Army’s Northern Command. Mass
production of these vehicles for
paramilitary units is most likely to be
launched in the near future.
CURRENT PROGRAMS INVOLVING
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
Russia. On August 24, 2009, a cere-
mony took place at the Heavy Vehicle
Factory (HVF) in Avadi to hand over
the first batch of 10 T-90S MBTs
(Indian codename “Bishma”) pro-
duced in India under a license pro-
vided by Russia, to the Indian Army.
The 10 MBTs were sent to the 73th
Indian Army regiment for trials.
The enterprise is expected to li-
cense-produce up to 100 T-90S
MBTs annually starting from 2010.
According to DRDO, every Indian-
made T-90 will cost up to Rs 150 mil-
lion (around $3 million).
The first contract worth $800 mil-
lion (Rs 36.25 billion) to deliver 310
T-90S MBTs to India was signed
in 2001. 124 tanks were shipped fully
assembled, with the other 186 piec-
es assembled at HVF using the ready
kits supplied by Uralvagonzavod.
In 2006, another deal was made al-
lowing India to license-produce
1,000 T-90S tanks by 2020. On
November 30, 2007, the Indian gov-
ernment signed a major deal worth
Rs 49 billion ($1,237 billion) to buy
347 T-90S MBTs from Russia, includ-
ing 124 fully assembled ones and 223
ready kits.
In May of 2009, India stroke a deal
with Russia for an additional deliv-
ery of 50 Т-90S MBTs, which will al-
T-72M1 Ajeya of the Indian Army
Light Armoured Patrol Vehicle Tour-3
RG-31 Nyala armored vehicle
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1(51).2010 ● 49
low the equipment of two tank reg-
iments until the end of 2009.
Russia’s Uralvagonzavod enter-
prise was to supply India with 60
ready T-90S MBTs in 2009. India al-
so expected to receive tanks due
to a new contract signed in 2009.
Russia completed transferring
the MBT manufacturing technology
to the Indian defense industry in late
2008, allowing India to launch full-
cycle production of T-90s in Avadi.
The T-90S tanks will gradually re-
place the outdated T-55s and ear-
ly versions of the T-72. The total val-
ue of the contracts signed amount-
ed to $3 billion. The Indian Armed
Forces expect to receive a total
of 1,700 T-90S MBTs by 2020.
The reason behind India’s decision
to buy T-90S MBTs is that the tank
is a deep modernization of the Т-72
which has long been in use with
the country’s land forces. The tank
acquisition is part of the plan to raise
21 and 40 regiments outfitted with
T-90S and T-72M1 Ajeya MBTs, re-
spectively. The similarity of these
models makes personnel training
and maintenance much easier. By
2020, the total number T-90S and
T-72M1 MBTs operate by the Indian
Army is expected to hit 3,800.
STATUS OF INDIA’S NATIONAL
PROGRAMS IN 2009
Arjun MBT program
The year 2009 was decisive for
the Arjun program.
In February of 2009, after a large
number of adjustments had been
made, the Indian Defense Ministry fi-
nally decided to adopt the Arjun MBT.
The Combat Vehicles Research
and Development Establishment
(CVRDE) is expected to supply 79
Arjun MBTs, made under the super-
vision of the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO),
to the Indian ground forces by March
2010. The per unit cost of the tank is
Rs 190 million ($4 million).
By now, the Indian Defense
Ministry has a delivery agreement for
124 domestically-developed tanks,
with 45 already supplied by June
of 2009. The rest will be delivered by
March of 2010.
To-date, the Arjun is a 60-ton
MBT fitted with a 120mm cannon.
The tank has a body length of 10.6 m
and a height of 3 m. it is 3.8 m wide
and has a crew of four. The gunner’s
sight, fitted with a laser range find-
er, is capable of tracking three tar-
gets simultaneously by day and by
night. The tank features heavy com-
posite armor, laser illumination sen-
sors, a smoke screen system and NBC
protection. The battle tank can al-
so be fitted with add-on reactive ar-
mor when necessary. The Arjun is
equipped with a 1,400 hp MTU en-
gine and RENK transmission, and has
a maximum speed of 70 km\h and 40
km\h on highway and off-road.
The Arjun can effectively engage
targets with up to 450mm-thick ar-
mor at a distance of 2,500m with
FSAPDS rounds which have a max-
imum muzzle velocity of 1,660 me-
ters per second. The tank can al-
so fire HESH high-explosive armor-
piercing, ballistic and shaped-charge
projectiles. The rate of fire is 6 to 8
rounds per minute. Secondary arma-
ment includes a coaxial 7.62mm Mg
and a 12,7mm AA MG.
By now, foreign suppliers ac-
count for 25 per cent to 30 per
cent of the tank’s components.
In the coming years, India plans
to reduce its dependence on MBT
part imports by developing replace-
ment components domestically.
Although a Rs 17.6 billion-
worth contract for 124 Arjun MBTs
was signed in 2000, the Indian
Parliament’s Defense Commission
stated in 2008 that the Arjun
MBT showed unsatisfactory re-
sults during the customer’s win-
ter tests in the Rajasthan des-
ert in December of 2007. Army re-
ports said that the tank needed
a significant number of adjustments
to meet all the requirements. In July
of 2008, the Indian Army Command
announced that it was not go-
ing to place additional orders for
Arjun MBTs outside the 124-unit or-
der from the Heavy Vehicle Factory
(HVF) in Avadi.
According to the Indian Army,
the Arjun MBT, though a modern
tank to remain operational within
the next decade, can not compete
with next-generation developments.
India is therefore seeking to de-
sign an advanced battle tank which
would be highly competitive interna-
tionally in the next 20 years.
DRDO, in its turn, is pressing
the Indian Government for an or-
der of at least 500 domestically-
made tanks to the Arjun program
and to use it as the basis for next
generation tank development.
The Indian top brass insisted
on the adoption of the Arjun MBT
despite despite objections from
the Ground Forces which agreed
to accept the tank only after the iden-
tified deficiencies are eliminated.
The requirements for the Arjun
MBT were developed back in 1972.
In 1982, it was announced that
the prototype tank was ready for
field tests. The vehicle, however, was
officially shown off as late as in 1995.
T-90S Bhishma Main Battle Tank
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50 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
Although the cost of the Arjun pro-
gram development was initially es-
timated at Rs 150 million, the fig-
ure has grown to Rs 3 billion by now.
Improved landmine protection armored
vehicle production program
In November 2009, the Indian
Army received the first batch of 14
Yukthirath armored vehicles with
improved landmine protection from
the IOF (Indian Ordnance Factory).
To-date, the Medak-based enter-
prise is busy working to supply 327
new armored vehicles to the Indian
Armed Forces. The government,
however, is ready to allocate addi-
tional funding to expand the order
for up to 1,400 units.
The Indian Army and other servic-
es use AFVs with improved landmine
protection extensively in counterin-
surgency operations in Jammu and
Cashmere, as well as in other regions.
According to the company’s
spokesman, the AFV Yukthirath’s
performance excels that of the pre-
vious versions, as well as of the South
African Casspir APCs.
The 12-ton vehicle was devel-
oped with Israeli aid is built on the
chassis of the currently operation-
al Stallion Mk.3 4x4 trucks. Just like
the South African Casspirs, the new
Indian vehicle has a monocoque
body with a V-shape bottom offer-
ing protection against landmine ex-
plosions with a TNT yield of up to 14
kg and 10 kg under the wheels or
body, respectively, as well as 7.62
mm bullets fired from a 10-meter
distance. The vehicle also features
bullet-proof windows.
The per unit cost of the AFV is Rs
10 million ($214,000), which is far be-
low the pricing of foreign-made ar-
mored vehicles selling for up to Rs 30
million ($640,000).
AIR DEFENCE/ANTI-BALLISTIC
MISSILE SYSTEMS
TALKS AND PLANS
USA. India has entered into pre-
liminary talks with the USA on the
procurement of the Patriot PAC-3
air defence/anti-ballistic missile sys-
tem. Talks that had been conduct-
ed for two years intensified in 2009,
and entered into technical consul-
tations phase. The US Department
of Defense specialists presented
to Indian experts the new system’s
capabilities on its computerized
model. The Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO)
experts attended at two test launch-
es of the system’s interceptor mis-
siles.
France. France intends to devel-
op together with India a new short-
range surface-to-air missile (SR SAM).
Talks on this project are nearing con-
clusion. This well may be the Maitri
project designed to develop a new-
generation short-range surface-
to-air missile based on technolo-
gies from the MBDA’s MICA missile
and India’s (terminated) Trishul pro-
gramme. The project cost is estimat-
ed at approximately 500 million USD.
It is planned that MBDA will devel-
op the missile, active homing head,
and engine thrust control system
The Indian side will develop soft-
ware, flight control and monitoring
system, and perform the missile final
assembly. The Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO)
will also supply for the project two
3-D target acquisition and tracking
radars capable of simultaneously
tracking up to 150 targets at a range
of 200 km.
In 2008, when the DRDO is-
sued performance requirements
for a joint short-range surface-to-
air missile development project, was
started selection of a foreign partner
in the project.
CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS
CONCLUDED IN 2009
Israel. In January 2009 India or-
dered 300 additional surface-to-air
missiles for the Barak air defence
missile system purchased earlier.
The contract cost is 480 million USD.
The Barak air defence missile sys-
tem is an up-to-date ship-borne
air defence/anti-missile system.
The Barak system’s surface-to-air
missiles are fired from vertical launch
containers. Target interception is
based on the radar command line-
of-sight guidance principle. The sys-
tem provides effective engagement
of highly agile missiles at extreme-
ly low altitudes, cruise missiles, la-
ser-guided bombs, aircraft and heli-
copters within the all-round (360-de-
gree) sector. Its surface-to-air mis-
siles are capable of engaging targets
in any weather conditions by day
and night within the range of 500
m to 10 km and at the altitude of up
to 5 km.
The Barak surface-to-air missile
has the following specifications: mis-
sile length — 2.5 m, body diame-
ter — 0.25 m, launch weight — 98 kg,
maximum speed — 1.6 Mach, war-
Yuktirat armored vehicle with advance anti-mine protec-tion
Arjun Main Battel Tank
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1(51).2010 ● 51
head weight — 21.8 kg. The Barak air
defence/anti-missile system (includ-
ing missile containers, EL/M-2221 ra-
dar, and computerised control sys-
tem) costs about 24 million USD.
The Barak missiles systems were ini-
tially procured because of delays
in the development of the indige-
nous Trishul/Akash system. The first
Barak air defence missile system was
delivered in early 2000 and installed
on the INS Viraat aircraft carrier.
India’s DRDO and Israeli IAI
company have been developing
the Barak-2 ship-based air defence/
anti-missile system with the effec-
tive range of 70 km since January
2006. It is expected that the pro-
gramme worth 26.06 billion INR
(about 650 million USD) will be com-
pleted by 2011. The latest air de-
fence/anti-missile system will con-
sist of four basic components: —
multifunctional surveillance and
early warning radar with the oper-
ational range of 350 km; — weap-
ons control system with communi-
cation links; — vertical launchers; —
and two-stage interceptor missiles.
The new surface-to-air missile de-
rived from the first basic missile will
be fitted with an improved seek-
er. The new air defence/anti-missile
systems are planned to be installed
first onboard three INS Calcutta-
project missile destroyers.
Israel. In its official statement
the IAI company informed about
the conclusion of a contract
on 27 February 2009 for the de-
livery to India of the MR-SAM me-
dium-range air defence/anti-mis-
sile system worth 1.4 billion USD.
Under this contract the IAI com-
pany shall develop and manufac-
ture both land-based and shipborne
air defence/anti-missile systems
for the Indian Ministry of Defence.
Some payments due according
to the Contract shall be effected
in advance during the development
phase, while the remaining sum
shall be paid off during a 66-month
delivery period starting within 90
months from the date of the ad-
vance payment acceptance.
This contract is the largest arms
trade transaction ever concluded be-
tween Israel and India.
In accordance with the con-
tract, the IAI company and Defence
Research and Development Orga ni-
sation (DRDO) of the Indian Minister
of Defence shall develop an air de-
fence/anti-missile system capable
of detecting and defeating enemy
aircraft, cruise missiles and surface-
to-surface missiles at a range of 70
to 80 km.
The Indian Air Force will induct
nine air defence missile battalion,
each battalion including two batter-
ies with the Barak surface-to-air mis-
sile launchers. Each battery will com-
prise the fire control centre, target
acquisition radar, and three launch-
ers with eight missiles in each.
The contract is a continuation
of the Barak-NG programme start-
ed in 2006 for the development
of the next-generation Barak ship-
borne surface-to-air missile (Israeli
designation — Barak-8).
First tests of the Barak MR-SAM
system are expected to take place
in three-year time. The system is ex-
pected to reach initial operational
capability in 2013.
The Barak is designed to replace
the Indian Air Force’s obsolete S-125
Pechora-1 air defence missile system.
The Indian Ministry of Defence ini-
tially considered an option of procur-
ing the Russian S-300 or US Raytheon
Patriot PAC-3 air defence missile sys-
tems but having made its own evalu-
Barak SAM on INS Viraat car-rier, 2004
Lockheed-Martin Patriot PAC-3 SAMLockheed-Martin Patriot PAC-3 SAM
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52 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
ation, decided to develop the indig-
enous system.
Within the framework of this pro-
gramme India and Israel conclud-
ed a separate agreement on build-
ing a plant for air defence/anti-mis-
sile system components production
in Bihar. The agreement cost is esti-
mated at 240 million USD. The pro-
duction plant in Bihar shall be built
to design made by the Israeli IMI
company.
Israel. In August 2009, after a lengthy
evaluation period, the Indian Ministry
of Defence approved the contract for
the procurement of the Spyder new
mobile short-range air defence sys-
tems. It has outlined plans to procure
54 missile launchers worth 820 million
USD for three regiments.
The decision to purchase
the Israeli system was taken after
the indigenous Trishul and Akash
short-range air defence missile sys-
tems designed by the Defence
Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) had not met
Army’s requirements.
The programme for procure-
ment of the Spyder systems (which
are planned for replacement
of the Soviet-made Osa-AKM and
Strela-10M air defence missile sys-
tems still in service) has been elab-
orated for several years. However,
the Indian Ministry of Defence has
been reluctant to endorse signing
of the contract because of a contin-
ued investigation of corruption cas-
es against two Israeli companies —
IAI and Rafael, related to the pro-
curement of the Barak-1 air de-
fence missile system worth 11.60 bil-
lion INR. Despite remaining suspi-
cions the Indian Government has
not blacklisted the Israeli compa-
nies and has continued implementa-
tion of joint projects that are vital for
the national security.
Thus, in late August 2008
the Defence Acquisitions Council en-
dorsed the signing up of an agree-
ment for the purchase of the Spyder
air defence missile system for
the Indian Air Force. The contract for
the delivery to the Indian Air Force
of 18 Spyder mobile air defence sys-
tems was signed with the Israeli
Rafael company on 1 September
2008. The total cost of the agree-
ment was 260.05 million USD
(about 11377,1875 billion INR). It was
planned that the Spyder deliveries
would begin in 2.5 years after sign-
ing the agreement and would be fin-
ished in four years.
The Spyder air defence missile
system is developed by a consor-
tium of two Israeli companies — IAI
and Rafael. It is a mobile all-weath-
er short-range surface-to-air mis-
sile system designed to detect and
destroy enemy aircraft, helicopters,
cruise missiles, unmanned aerial ve-
hicles, and precision-guided muni-
tions. The system can be deployed
to provide air defence of strategic
installations including military bas-
es, communication centres, nuclear
power stations, governmental build-
ings, etc.
The inclined ramp launchers
of the Spyder-SR air defence missile
system mounted on a 6x6-wheeled
chassis are designed to accommo-
date four missiles. The Spider am-
munition load includes the ground-
based version of the Derby medi-
um-range air-to-air active radar guid-
ed missile, and the Python-5 short-
range IR guided missile. The air de-
fence missile system can operate by
Barak-8 SAM
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1(51).2010 ● 53
locking on target prior to or after
the missile launch with the employ-
ment of the fire-and-forget mode
or in-flight target data correction.
The system’s reaction time (from tar-
get acquisition to combat readiness
status) is 5 seconds.
A typical Spyder battalion con-
sists of one mobile command and
control post and four to six mobile
launchers with the Toplite electro-
optical sensors. The command and
control post is equipped with the IAI/
ELTA EL/M-2106 ATAR radar capable
of tracking 60 targets simultaneously
at a range of 35 km and two operator
panels with data transfer terminals
allowing data exchange with launch-
ers, adjacent air defence missiles sys-
tems, and superior commanders at a
range of up to 100 km.
The Spyder-SR air defence missile
system can kill targets within the all-
round (360 degrees) sector at a range
of one to 15 km and at altitudes from
20 to 9,000 m. The system is capable
of defeating both single and group
targets by day and night in any cli-
matic conditions.
INDIA’S INDIGENOUS
PROGRAMMES REALIZED IN 2009
Akash air defence missile system procure-
ment programme
In January 2009 the Indian Air
Force signed the contract with
the Bharat Electronics Ltd for the de-
livery of two battalions of the Akash
medium-range air defence missile
system developed by the Defence
Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) of the Indian
Ministry of Defence. The contract
valued at 12 billion INR (247 million
USD) was signed 14 months after fin-
ishing tests.
The Air Force had been postpon-
ing the signing of the contract since
the Akash missile system did not
fully meet the given requirements.
The Air Force would like to have
more light and compact missile with
greater operational range and ma-
noeuvrability. The developers intend
to continue upgrading this air de-
fence missile system during its pro-
duction and operation to improve its
performance characteristics.
Under the initial contract two bat-
talions of the Akash air defence mis-
sile systems shall be delivered with-
in 36 months. It is expected that
in future the Indian Air Force will
place orders for additional quanti-
ties of the air defence missile system
for the substitution of Soviet-made
systems. The Indian Army intends
to procure the modified Akash sys-
tems as well.
The Defence Research and
Development Laboratory (DRDL)
started developing the Akash sur-
face-to-air missile in 1984 un-
der the Integrated Guided Missile
Development Program that em-
braced various types of missiles.
Initially 12 years were planned for
the system development but, in fact,
the works took more than 21 years.
The Indian developers remark that
this air defence missile system is in the
same class as the US Patriot and Israeli
Barak systems, but it is a substantial-
ly lower costing one. The Akash sur-
face-to-air missile powered by a solid-
propellant engine has length of 5.78
m, launch weight of more than 700
kg, and warhead weight of up to 60
kg. The missile can develop a 600-m/
s flight speed and engage single and
group targets flying at low and me-
dium altitudes at a range of 3 to 25
km. The single-shot kill probability for
the Akash missile is 85%.
Akash medium-range SAM
Spider-SR SAM on a 6x6 wheeled vehicleSpider-SR SAM on a 6x6 wheeled vehicle
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54 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
The Akash air defence missile sys-
tem includes radars, mobile launch
units, command and control posts,
and other support systems. Missiles
can be mounted on tracked and
wheeled chassis. The system in-
cludes the Rajendra multifunction-
al phased array radar capable of au-
tonomously tracking 64 targets and
guiding up to 12 missiles.
The Akash system will be manu-
factured by a group of companies
under the management of Bharat
Electronics Ltd, the prime contractor
of the programme. The programme
implementation will involve 40 sub-
contractors in total.
Some foreign customers have al-
ready expressed their interest in pur-
chasing the Akash system, and for
that reason the DRDO has submit-
ted export clearance documents
to the Indian Ministry of Defence and
Foreign Ministry for endorsement. If
approved by the Government, India’s
defence industry will be capable
of both satisfying domestic needs
of the Indian armed forces for this air
defence missile system and the mis-
siles, and producing them on foreign
customers’ orders.
National anti-ballistic missile system de-
velopment programme
India’s anti-ballistic missile sys-
tem development programme has
made a serious headway in the last
two years. Its major achievements
include two successful launch-
es of the PAD anti-missiles derived
from the Prithvi short-range ballistic
missile (PAD — Prithvi Air Defence)
and AAD interceptor missile (AAD —
Advanced Air Defence) which will
make up the backbone of India's ad-
vanced anti-ballistic missile system.
In 2009 the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO)
of the Indian Ministry of Defence
started testing the Swordfish long-
range tracking radar (LRTR). The LRTR
is planned to be a target acquisition
and fire control radar for the anti-
ballistic missile system being devel-
oped.
India’s national anti-ballistic mis-
sile is under development for several
years. Its main objective is to provide
detection and interception of ballis-
tic missiles both at exo-atmospher-
ic altitudes of 60 to 80 km and en-
do-atmospheric altitudes of 15 to 20
km. At the first stage the deployed
anti-ballistic missile system should
ensure protection of New Delhi and
Mumbai. The anti-ballistic missile
system will include long-range tar-
get acquisition radars, command and
control centres, and batteries with
interceptor missiles.
Missiles of two types are em-
ployed for interception: exo-atmo-
spheric PAD and endo-atmospher-
ic AAD missiles. The AAD missile will
ensure intercepts at the altitude of 15
to 30 km. The PAD-2 anti-missile with
the first-stage liquid-fuel booster
and second-stage solid-fuel engine
can attain flight speed of up to 4.5 —
5 Mach. The AAD anti-missile is a sin-
Prithvi II ballictic missile
Brahmos cruise missile
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1(51).2010 ● 55
gle-stage missile. Its basic specifica-
tions are: length — 7.5 m, diameter —
0.5 m, weight — about 1.2 tonnes. It
employs inertial guidance in the ini-
tial trajectory and active radar guid-
ance in the terminal leg. Launch is
made from the launcher mounted
on the Tatra truck chassis with mis-
siles in transport-launch containers.
India’s national anti-ballistic mis-
sile system is expected to be de-
ployed in 2015 provided that the test
programme has been completed
successfully and no financial or man-
agerial problems have cropped up.
PROSPECTIVE PROJECTS
India is planning to devel-
op a laser anti-ballistic missile sys-
tem to protect the country’s terri-
tory against ballistic missile attacks.
This system should be capable of in-
tercepting and destroying missiles
at the ascending trajectory leg.
An air-based/sea-based laser an-
tiballistic missile system should be
able to destroy enemy ballistic mis-
siles in several seconds. The laser
interception system will provide
more time for the national anti-bal-
listic missile system to kill ballistic
missiles launched from the range
of 2,000 km.
Such technologies are being de-
veloped in several DRDO laborato-
ries, including the Laser and Science
Technology Centre (LASTEC). In par-
ticular, it develops an airborne laser
system similar to the US laser-based
ballistic missile defense system.
It is expected that development
of the system to a series production-
ready prototype capable of accom-
plishing anti-ballistic missile missions
will take 10 to 15 years. Such long
time for the project implementation
is needed since it must include de-
velopment not only of anti-missile la-
ser, but other equipment as well, in-
cluding target acquisition and track-
ing means and their integration into
a unique, smoothly functioning anti-
ballistic missile system.
MISSILES & ROCKETS
BRAHMOS CRUISE MISSILE
PROGRAMME
In 2009 main efforts
of the Russian-Indian joint venture
“Brahmos Aerospace” were focused
on testing the BrahMos, Block-II up-
graded cruise missile. On 30 July
2009 the Indian Army performed
No.4 test launch of the land-based
version of the BrahMos Block-II up-
graded supersonic cruise missile
in Pokhran test range in the western
part of Rajasthan Desert.
Initial tests of this modification
were held on 20 January 2009 but
failed. After the missile control sys-
tem algorithms had been updated
the repeated tests were successful-
ly conducted on 4 March. The de-
velopers reported that the missile
hit the target at a range of about
40 km with the acceptable accura-
cy. On 29 March 2009 the Indian
Armed Forces performed the third
test launch of the BrahMos Block-
II missile from a land-based mobile
autonomous vertical launcher, and
the missile scored a hit on the as-
signed target in a multitarget envi-
ronment at a range of 50 km.
Tests in July 2009 confirmed com-
pliance of the BrahMos Block-II mis-
sile featuring the improved guid-
ance system with the requirements
of the Indian Armed Forces, and its
preparedness for series production.
According to these requirements
the upgraded cruise missile must
be able to select and engage targets
in multitarget environment (within
a group of other targets) to increase
its target engagement capability
and reduce collateral damage.
The supersonic BrahMos cruise
missile development programme
was started in the middle of 1999
drawing on the Onyx II-800 mis-
sile design intended for under-
water launch. To realize this pro-
gramme, the joint venture (JV)
“BrahMos Aerospace Ltd” was es-
tablished by two co-founders: fed-
eral state unitary enterprise “NPO
Machinostroyenia” (Russia) and
DRDO (India). The first test launch-
es of the BrahMos cruise missile pro-
totype were performed at the test
range in Orissa state, India.
“BrahMos” is a two-stage cruise
missile with the following parame-
ters: length — 10 m, body diame-
ter — 0.7 m, launch weight (with con-
tainer) — 3.9 t, operational range —
up to 290 km, flight speed —
2.9 Mach. This cruise missile can car-
Brahmos anti-ship missile
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56 ● ARMS Defence Technologies Review
ry a warhead weighing up to 300 kg.
Its performance allows it to fly at var-
ious altitudes from 10 m to 14 km at a
speed three times higher than that
of the US Tomahawk cruise missile.
At present BrahMos Aerospace
Ltd has finished the development
of several versions of its superson-
ic cruise missile. The land-based
and sea-based missile versions have
been successfully tested and induct-
ed into service by the Indian Army
and Navy. The airborne and subma-
rine-launched versions are under de-
velopment at the moment.
The Indian Army took delivery
of the first BrahMos LACM (land at-
tack cruise missile) battery in June
2007. The Indian Army plans to adopt
in the near future three BrahMos mis-
sile batteries, each containing four
mobile launchers based on the Tatra
12x12-wheel truck.
The Indian Navy retrofitted
with the BrahMos antiship mis-
siles several combatants, includ-
ing the Rajput destroyer and two
ships of the same type. There are
plans to install the BrahMos launch-
ers on three INS Project 1135.6 Talwar
frigates being under construction
at the Yantar shipyards (Kaliningrad,
Russia), and Calcutta destroyers that
will be build at Mazgon Dock ship-
yards in Mumbai.
On 18 December 2008 the Indian
Navy made first test launch of the su-
personic BrahMos cruise missile from
the INS Rajput type destroyer with
the ship-based vertical launcher.
Previously Indian Navy ships fired
missiles from inclined ramp launch-
ers. The vertical launcher used in the
tests was developed and manufac-
tured also by BrahMos Aerospace Ltd.
In contrast to inclined ramp
launchers, the vertical launcher al-
lows firing missiles in an all-round
360-degree sector. The canister-type
vertical launcher accommodates
eight missiles. Surface ships will be
fitted with two such combat mod-
ules. In future Indian Navy subma-
rines will be equipped with vertical
missile launchers.
In early January 2009, two Indian
Air Force Su-30MKI multi-role fight-
ers were ferried to Russia for up-
grading that would allow them
to launch an airborne version
of the BrahMos cruise missile. Flight
tests of the BrahMos supersonic mis-
sile air-launched version are planned
for completion by the end of 2012.
Testing of the airborne missile
version to be launched from the IAF
Su-30MKI fighter will be conducted
in parallel with BrahMos Aerospase
upgrading of a submarine-launched
version of the missile.
Russian and Indian engineers
are now engaged in integrating
the BrahMos cruise missile onboard
the Su-30MKI carrier-aircraft. BrahMos
Aerospace Ltd managed to decrease
weight of the airborne BrahMos mis-
sile to facilitate its integration with
the aircraft. The cruise missile’s weight
is now 2,550 kg, length — 8.3 m, and
body diameter — 0.67 m.
If missile integration onboard
the Su-30MKI aircraft platform is
successful, there are future plans
for a programme to retrofit with
the BrahMos cruise missiles the Su-
35 combat aircraft and a 5th gener-
ation advanced fighter to be jointly
developed by Russia and India.
In September 2008 Russia and
India revealed for the first time
their plans for joint development
of a new BrahMos-2 hypersonic mis-
sile. The missile is supposed to attain
maximum speed in the range from 5
to 7 Mach which makes its intercep-
tion practically impossible. BrahMos
Aerospace Ltd intends to complete
the BrahMos-2 hypersonic missile
development by 2013.
Upon completion of the devel-
opment programme, the BrahMos
cruise missile will become “a ver-
satile cruise missile” since it will be
adapted for launch from surface
ships, submarines, aircraft, land-
based silos, and mobile launchers.
In the next decade, the Indian
Armed Forces can purchase up
to 1,000 BrahMos missiles produced
in different versions. Presently there
are 14 countries listed as potential
buyers of the BrahMos missiles. Yet
final decision on what customers
can purchase the missiles will be tak-
en by the Indian and Russian govern-
ments. Until now no contracts for de-
livery of the BrahMos cruise missiles
to third counties have been signed.
It is caused, in particular, by India’s
intention to first arm its own Army,
Air Force and Navy with this weapon.
BrahMos Aerospace Ltd plans
to produce 50 to 100 missiles annual-
ly. During one decade the company
can manufacture up to 1,000 missiles
from which one half can be export-
ed. In general it intends to produce
not less than 2,000 BrahMos missiles
for different customers. At present
the Indian government has ordered
for its armed forces the BrahMos mis-
siles worth 2 billion USD.
Detailed review of the Indian
missile program can be found
in the article entitled “Missiles over
Hindustan”.
Brahmos ASM mobile launcher
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