Brahmos tested for Navy sucessfully..

At 11.30AM ,test of the Naval BrahMos supersonic cruise missile in a vertical launch from the Indian Navy destroyer INS Ranvir was sucessfull and Official announcment made that this test was carried out for testing accuracy of missile..

Rajasthan to allot land for BrahMos Project

Rajasthan government has decided to allot 80 ha for setting up BRAHMOS Missile project in Pilani. Defence Research Development

Organisation chief controller (R&D) Dr A Sivathanu Pillai said that the Rs 200-crore project will be rolled out soon in the state.

"We will hire around 150 technology experts for this project. Most of them would be from Rajasthan," he said.

The BrahMos (an amalgam of Brahmaputra and Moskva) missile programme is a joint venture between India and Russia. It is the fastest operational cruise missile existing in the world today and can be launched from any type of platform - land, sea, and air and precisely reach the targets either on land or at sea with high lethal effect.

"The missile is being assembled at BrahMos Aerospace located in Hyderabad," a government official said.

2 Astra missiles successfully test fired In Orissa

Achieving a new milestone, India on Monday successfully test-fired two indigenously developed air-to-air missiles 'Astra' in quick succession from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Orissa.

The beyond visual range (BVR) missiles were test-fired from a ground launcher in the launch pad No. 2 of the ITR complex at about 9.45 am and 12.06 pm, defence sources said.

Describing both the trials as "successful", they said the data of the flight test was being thoroughly analysed. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists said Astra was a futuristic missile and it could intercept targets at supersonic speeds between mach 1.2 to 1.4 (mach one is equivalent to 1236 kmph.)

"The tests on the missile's navigation, control, air frame, propulsion and other sub-system have been validated," they said.

The complex missile system would undergo some more trials before being made fully operational, they said. The single stage, solid fuel 'Astra' missile "is more advanced in its category than the contemporary BVR missiles and it is capable of engaging and destroying highly manoeuvrable supersonic aerial targets," defence sources said.

Though the exact range of today's trial was not disclosed, scientists are working to ensure that 'Astra' performs effectively at different altitudes - one, cruising at an altitude of 15 km with 90 to 110 km range, another at an altitude up to 30,000 ft having a range of 44 km and the third, at sea level with a range of 30 km. Astra had earlier been test-fired from the ITR at the ground level several times, the sources added.

BrahMos missile to be inducted into Air Force in 2012

The country's prestigious 'BrahMos' missile would be inducted into the Air Force in 2012 that would ensure all the three

wings of the military are equipped with the supersonic cruise missile, a top defence official said on Wednesday.

"We have developed the airborne missile part, and process of integrating it with the aircraft 'Sukhoi' was progressing", BrahMos Aerospace Ltd CMD A Shivathanu Pillai said at the BrahMos Aerospace's facility here.

Trial run of airborne BrahMos missile would be held next year and the target was to integrate it with the aircraft in 2012, he said.

As far as integration of the missile was concerned, the original designers of the aircraft were also involved, he said.

"We are working with them (Sukhoi). Some changes are necessary and once the alteration is identified, we will introduce the same in the aircraft," Pillai said.

With that, all the three wings of Indian military -- Air Force, Navy and Army -- would have the supersonic missile 'BrahMos', he said.

Development of a new version of BrahMos missile, involving a technology that would discriminate the target and attack, in 2009 was a major achievement, he added.

Three flights on the new version had proved successful and the army would be inducting two more of this version shortly, Pillai said.

On the next generation cruise missile, he said hypersonic BrahMos missile was in design stage

Astra air-to-air missile to make its first flight To add punch to IAF’s fleet of Sukhoi, Mig-29, Mirage-2000, Tejas

Veteran fighter pilots lament the end of the dogfight, the evocative name for a twisty, sky-ripping, adrenaline-packed aerial duel, in which the winner gets behind his opponent and shoots him down with a burst of cannon fire.

Today, it is less about flying skill, cold nerve and highly-responsive aircraft; the modern-day dogfighting ace is an airborne video-game expert who uses radar to detect his foe at long ranges, and launch a beyond visual range (BVR) missile even before his victim realises that the engagement has begun.

Just days from now, a Sukhoi-30MKI fighter will take off from an Indian Air Force (IAF) base, an Astra missile fitted on its wing. This will be the first-ever flight of this indigenously developed BVR missile, which the IAF hopes will add punch to its fleet of Sukhoi-30MKI, Mig-29, Mirage-2000 and Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) fighters.

The Astra, built by the Defence R&D Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad, will allow IAF pilots to hit enemy aircraft up to 44 km away, at altitudes up to 20,000 metres. Improving on that will be the Astra Mk II, with a longer range of 80 km.


The Astra incorporates many cutting-edge technologies. Here is how an Astra would take on an enemy fighter: an IAF fighter’s radar picks up the target; the pilot launches an Astra missile. A high-energy propellant quickly boosts the missile to several times the speed of sound. At ranges beyond 15 km, the Astra cannot “see” its target, so the IAF fighter guides the missile, relaying the target’s continually changing position over a secure radio link. Once it is 15 km from the target, the Astra’s onboard seeker picks up the target; after that the Astra homes in on its own.

At this point, the target would start turning and diving to throw off the missile. But the Astra manoeuvres better, and moves much faster, than even the most agile fighters. A radio proximity fuse measures the distance to the target. When the target is within 5 metres, the Astra’s radio proximity fuse detonates its warhead, sending a volley of shrapnel ripping through the enemy fighter.

Most of these technologies have already been proven. The propulsion system, the data link between the aircraft and the Astra, the radio proximity fuse, the onboard computer, the inertial navigation system and other key technologies were developed at the DRDO’s missile complex in Hyderabad.

The Astra’s seeker is still imported from Russia, but the DRDO hopes to develop one.

The forthcoming test with a Sukhoi-30MKI is called a “captive flight trial”; it will evaluate whether the Astra can withstand the physical stresses of supersonic flying and high-speed manoeuvring. Early in 2010, a “captive-II flight trial” will check whether the Astra’s avionics are properly matched with those of the Sukhoi-30MKI. The fighter should receive the missile’s signals; and the Astra should receive the aircraft’s commands.

“Matching an Indian missile with a Russian fighter’s avionics has turned out to be a complex task”, explains Mukesh Chand, one of the Astra’s key developers, “But the Astra will be much better integrated with the Indian Tejas LCA.”

Only in October 2010, after all the Astra’s systems are certified airworthy, will a live Astra be fired from a fighter. But the project scientists are confident; in a September 2008 test in Balasore, Orissa, a ground-launched Astra shot down an electronic target, validating many of the most complex technologies.

A drawback in the Astra remains its high weight; even a heavy fighter like the Sukhoi-30MKI cannot carry the missile on its wingtip stations. In comparison with the Astra’s estimated 150 kg, other BVR missiles like the Israeli Derby weigh around 100 kg only.

BrahMos phase II: Deadline for land set

The second phase development of BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (BATL) now hinges on a State Government promise to find the necessary land by March 31.

Last week, the government held a meeting and assured that necessary land will be found for the Airports Authority of India (AAI) by March 31. We hope everything will go smoothly,’’ BATL CEO and managing director and DRDO chief controller (R&D) Dr A. Sivathanu Pillai said on the sidelines of a function here on Saturday.

For launching the second phase of the cruise missile programme, BATL had identified 7.15 acres of land adjacent to its Chakkai plant.

This land belongs to the Indian Air Force (IAF). The IAF has, in principle, agreed to hand over the land, but on the condition that they be allotted land elsewhere. The IAF needs land to build accommodation for its personnel. The State Government’s plan is to acquire land near Chakkai for the Airport Authority of India (AAI) for the development of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport and provide substitute land for the IAF there, so the latter can hand over its plot to BATL.

``Unlike in other states, land is a big problem here. We understand that. But we are sure things will go smoothly,’’ said Sivathanu Pillai, who envisages a bigger role for Thiruvananthapuram and BATL once the Aerospace industry boom gets going in earnest.

The BrahMos (an amalgam of Brahmaputra and Moskva) missile programme is a joint venture between India and Russia. When Brah- Mos Aerospace took over stateowned KELTE C in 2007, the promise was that the first missile will be rolled out from Thiruvananthapuram in three years’ time.

Scientists now brace up for Agni tests in Jan

Express News Service

First Published : 15 Dec 2009 04:20:00 AM IST

Last Updated : 15 Dec 2009 07:39:02 AM IST

BALASORE: After the twin failures of India’s first long range missile Agni-II, the successful trial of nuke-capable surface-to-surface Dhanush missile came as a face saver for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Now the organisation is eyeing the success of the two proposed tests of Agni-II and Agni-III missiles in January.Dhanush, Naval version of Prithvi ballistic missile, was flight tested by the Indian Navy from the warship INS Subhadra, 35 km away from Balasore coast yesterday.With the test, India has joined the elite club of US and China which have the similar kind of missiles in their arsenal.Defence sources said, the missile travelled almost 350 km within nearly 500 seconds before zeroing in on the target with a circular error probability (CEP) of less than 10 metres.“It met the velocity, height and guidance parameters. The flight path was very smooth without any variation and deviation'', said ITR director SP Dash.The pre-decided coordinates - elevation, trajectory and azimuth were also well as expected and the missile splashed down at the target point with pinpoint accuracy, added Dash.Buoyed by the success, the DRDO scientists are now planning a fresh trial of the 2000-km plus range Agni-II missile. The trial will be conducted by the Indian Army.Earlier, in May and November the missile trials conducted by the Army had failed to deliver desired results.In the last test the missile developed a technical snag during the ignition of the second stage and its flex nozzle did not function properly.Sources said, the user trial will be followed by a developmental trial of the country’s longest 3500-km range missile Agni-III.Agni-III, which has a velocity of five km per second, is a short and stubby, two-stage missile that weighs 48.3 tonnes and is 16.7 metres tall with an overall diameter of 1.8 meters. It can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads weighing around 1.5 tonnes.It will be propelled by solid fuels, facilitating swifter deployment compared to missiles using a mix of solid and liquid fuels.“Agni-II has already been inducted in the armed forces. Even though the Agni-III is said to be ready for induction but still it will require two or three more tests before it can go for limited series production (LSP) trials by the armed forces. However, two years more will be required for its operational deployment,” the sources added.

source:Express India

Dhanush missile successfully test fired

India on Sunday successfully test fired its nuclear-capable ballistic missile 'Dhanush', with a range of 350 km, from a naval ship off the Orissa coast.

The single-stage ship-based missile was flight-tested at around 11.30 am and the trial was successful, defence sources
said.


'Dhanush' has a payload capacity of 500 kg and is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads. It can hit both sea and shore-based targets.

The missile, which has liquid propellant, is the naval version of India's indigenously developed surface-to-surface
'Prithvi' missile system, the sources said.

"Dhanush, being developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), was put to trial jointly by a
team of scientists and officers from the Navy," they said.

"Today's test launch has been tracked from its take-off to impact point through an integrated network of sophisticated
radars and electro-optic instruments for post-mission data analyses," the sources said.

The missile had failed in its first test at the development stage on April 11, 2000 due to certain technical problems relating to the take-off stage but subsequent trials were successful.

The last trial of 'Dhanush' was successfully conducted from a naval ship off Orissa coast on March 30, 2007, the sources said.