Oct 29, 2016
Extended BrahMos Versus Nirbhaya – A Comparison
India and Russia have approved an extension to the range of the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos, doubling it to 600 kilometers, according to an official with the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) quoted by the Defense News. The range of the joint venture missile can be increased as per the Indian official because of India's entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). The agreement to extend the range was reportedly taken on Oct.26 at the 16th Intergovernmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation, co-chaired by Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his Russian counterpart, Gen. Sergei Shoigu.
India's entry into the MTCR will help to the extent that Russia and India can acknowledge that the range is above 300 kms. It is always believed that BrahMos range was specified at 290 kms primarily to avoid the complications of transfer for Moscow which is a signatory of the MTCR. At the same time there is a grey area for becoming a signatory to MTCR does not imply that there are no restrictions in missile technology trade particularly when range and lethality are involved.
Defense News quoted a DRDO scientist stating, "only very minor changes in software and hardware are required" to increase the range. As BrahMos conforms to the characteristics of Russian P-800 Oniks/Yakhont anti-ship missile no major modification is required to achieve 600-kilometers range. However modifications to the missile would be required to impart greater stability over longer range and accuracy.
Operationally increase in range will overcome restrictions of deployment closer to the international border/Line of Control for the ground based version of the missile. This will extend the area of influence as well as provide greater flexibility in employment. On the other hand for the naval and the yet to be deployed air launched version this will provide the advantaged of extension of range in engagement as well as standoff distance.
The future of the Nirbhay sub sonic cruise missile programme which is DRDO's indigenous cruise missile may under the shadow. Technically speaking BrahMos extended range and Nirbhaya are two separate projects by different agencies. Thus the move to extend the range of BrahMos should not impact the development of the Nirbhaya. More over Nirbhaya range is 1000 kms and is a sub sonic missile whereas the BrahMos is a supersonic missile. Both have their own advantages.
What is to be decided is do the armed forces want two sets of cruise missiles - one with a range of 600 and another 1000 kms. Is there an operational requirement of the two categories of missiles for the armed forces and is there enough budget to develop both? Once these issues are clarified the Nirbhaya project could be either further pursued or given a quiet burial or continued to retain the technology capability achieved.
No comments:
Post a Comment