DEFENCE RESEARCH: Chinese Aggression Prompts 8 Missile Tests

India had conducted nine missile tests in a time span of under 45 days — between 7 September and 12 October 2020. The tests and the deployments need to be seen in the context of the ongoing impasse between Indian and Chinese troops at the Line of Actual Control. Coming at a time when India is engaged with a belligerent Chinese Army in the Ladakh sector, the testing and deployment of short-range delivery platforms clearly conveys the Government’s intention of not backing down to any aggression or cartographical expansion plan of any adversary in the neighbourhood.

Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle. The testing spree began with the launch of the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) on 7 September.

Anti-Tank Guided Missile. On 22 September, India tested an indigenously designed and developed Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM).

Prithvi-II Ballistic Missile. On 23 September, India tested its Prithvi-II ballistic missile. The nuclear-capable missile has a range of around 350 kilometres.

Extended-Range BrahMos. On 30 September, India test-fired an extended-range version of its BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.

Shaurya Hypersonic Missile. On 3 October, India test-fired its indigenously-developed nuclear-capable hypersonic missile called Shaurya.

SMART Torpedo. On 5 October, the DRDO demonstrated Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo or SMART, a weapon system capable of hitting enemy submarines lurking beyond torpedo range.

Rudram Anti-Radiation Missile. On 9 October, indigenously developed New Generation Anti-Radiation Missile (NGARM) was test-fired from a Su-30MKI fighter jet.

Nirbhay Subsonic Cruise Missile. On 12 October, the 800-km range Nirbhay cruise missile was launched from Odisha’s test facility into the Bay of Bengal but the missile developed a snag and the trial was aborted 8 minutes later.

DRDO successfully test fires laser-guided anti-tank guided missile

An indigenously developed laser-guided anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) was successfully test fired, on 1 October, defeating a target located at longer range. It was the second such successful test firing of the missile, having a range of up to 5 km. It was  earlier fired on 22 September. The weapon was test-fired from an MBT Arjun Tank at KK Ranges in Armoured Corps Centre and School (ACC&S) in Ahmednagar.

The ATGM employs a tandem heat warhead to defeat Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) protected armoured vehicles in ranges from 1.5 to 5 km, the defence ministry said in a statement. It said the ATGM has been developed with a capability to launch from multiple platforms and is currently undergoing technical evaluation trials from 120 mm rifled gun of MBT Arjun. The Arjun is a third generation main battle tank developed by the DRDO.

Pune-based Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) developed the ATGM in association with High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune and Instruments Research and Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun.

The 22 September test was also caried out from a MBT Arjun Tank at KK Ranges. In these tests, the ATGM successfully defeated a target located at 3 km. Laser guided ATGMs lock and track the targets with the help of laser designation to ensure precision hit accuracy.