India’s Advanced Missile Arsenal: Strengthening National Defense

India’s missile arsenal extends beyond conventional systems, showcasing advancements in strategic and tactical capabilities. From surface-to-surface missiles like Prahar and Shaurya to air defense systems such as QRSAM and MRSAM, these technologies bolster India’s defense readiness across land, sea, and air domains.

An Overview of India’s Advanced Missile Arsenal

Prahar Missile 

Prahar is a short-range (150 km) single-stage solid-fuel surface-to-surface missile developed by DRDO. 

• Like the Pinaka missile (a multiple-rocket system) several Prahar missiles can be fired in one salvo. 
• Prahar (guided: three-element flight-control system), with greater accuracy and shorter reaction time than the unguided missiles currently being used by the Indian Army, will fill the gap between Pinaka (multi-barrel rocket system, range-45 km) and the Prithvi missile.

• Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile: QRSAM is a single-stage solid-fuelled quick reaction surface-to-air Missile (range: 5-30 km, altitude: 6 km)  capable of Search on Move, Track on Move and Fire on Short halts. 
  • Configured on highly mobile platforms, it is being inducted into the Indian Army (IA).
• Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM): Developed by the DRDO in collaboration with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has a range of 70 km. 
  • MRSAM is a high-response, quick-reaction, vertically launched supersonic missile designed to neutralise enemy aerial threats – missiles, aircraft, guided bombs, helicopters to be used by all three wings of armed forces.
• Project Kusha: Under the project (shouldered by DRDO), India is readying its own long-range air defence system, which will be able to detect and destroy incoming stealth fighters, aircraft, drones, cruise missiles and precision-guided munitions at ranges up to 350 km. 
  • Indigenous LRSAM will be capable of reliable `area air defence’ with a single-shot kill probability of not less than 80% (for single missile launch) and not less than 90% for a salvo launch.

Shaurya Missile 

Shaurya (land variant of short-range SLBM K-15 Sagarika) is a nuclear-capable two-stage solid-fuel short-range hypersonic ballistic missile (7.5 Mach) with a strike range of around 1,000 km and a payload capacity up to 1000 kg.  

• K Family of missiles: These missiles are primarily Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs), indigenously developed by DRDO and are named after Dr Kalam.

• • Launched presently from Arihant class submarines (complete India’s Nuclear Triad), these are lighter, smaller and stealthier than their land-based counterparts, the Agni series.
  • K-4 missiles from the family are intermediate-range (3500 km) nuclear-capable SLBMs with a payload capacity of 2.2 tons.
• K-15 Sagarika (range: 750 km, payload: 1000 kg) is a two-stage solid-fuel nuclear capable SLBM.
  • More members of the K-family (reportedly codenamed K-5 and K-6) with ranges of 5000 and 6000 km are under development.
• Astra Weapon System: ASTRA is an indigenously developed air-to-air Beyond Visual Range radar homing missile consisting of Astra Missile and Launcher with a range up to 110 km ( altitude up to 20 km).
• Mission Shakti: DRDO successfully neutralised a satellite in space with its anti-satellite (ASAT) missile in low earth orbit under Mission Shakti. 
  • The successful mission demonstrated DRDO’s technical prowess and ability to defend the country’s assets in space, the 4th dimension of warfare.

Conclusion

India’s diverse missile systems, including indigenous developments like Astra, Shaurya, and the K family of submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), underscore its technological prowess and strategic preparedness. 

• With advancements like Mission Shakti demonstrating space defense capabilities, India continues to strengthen its national security in a dynamic global landscape.

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