India has attained self reliance in missile technology. We are now a proud member of MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime) and have many missiles. Visit the article : Missiles of India to get a list of missiles in India. Today we are going to read about missiles which are capable of shooting down an aircraft from land. It is called the Surface to Air Missiles (SAM).
Surface to Air Missiles
A surface-to-air missile (SAM) is also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW). They are missiles designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft system; in modern armed forces, missiles have replaced most other forms of dedicated anti-aircraft weapons, with anti-aircraft guns pushed into specialised roles.
India’s military research agency, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has designed many SAM missiles, both long and medium-range, to augment India’s overall defence capabilities.
List of Indian Surface to Air Missiles :-
Trishul Missile
Barak 8 Missiles
Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) Missiles
Maitri Surface to air missile
Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile
Vertical Launch-Short Range Surface to Air Missile
Advanced Air Defence/ Ashwin Ballistic Missile Interceptor
XR-SAM
Trishul Surface to Air Missiles
Trishul is a low-level quick-reaction short range surface-to-air missile. India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed it as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). It can also be used as an anti-sea skimmer from naval ships against low flying missiles, attack helicopters and aircraft.
Trishul has a range between 300 m to 9 km. DRDO also made an enhanced 11 km range variant for the Indian Air Force. It weighs 130 kg and is capable of carrying a 15 kg warhead. Trishul is 3 m in length and 20 cm in diameter.
Akash Missile
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is the developer and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) is the producer of this medium-range mobile Surface-to-Air missile (SAM). Its missile launcher is made by Indian companies Bharat Electronics (BEL), Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division and Larsen & Toubro.
Akash missile is used in the system which is a surface to air missile with an intercept of 25 km. It has a launch weight of 720 kg with a diameter of 35 cm and a length of 5.78 m. It flies at a supersonic speed of 2.5 mach and can reach an altitude of 20 km. Also integrated with a self-destruct device and is propelled by an Integrated Ramjet Rocket Engine. The Missile has Command guidance in its entire flight.
Barak 8 Surface to Air Missiles
Barak 8 is also known as LR-SAM or as MR-SAM. is an Indo-Israeli jointly developed surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. It is designed to defend against any type of airborne threat including aircraft, helicopters, anti-ship missiles, and UAVs. It also intercepts ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and combat jets. Both maritime and land-based variants of the system exist.
Barak 8 was jointly developed by India’s Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
India has used $5 billion Barak-8 missiles for its Air Force, Navy and Army.
Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) Missiles
The Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) is an anti-ballistic missile developed to intercept incoming ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere. Based on the Prithvi missile, PAD is a two-stage missile with a maximum interception altitude of 80 km.
DRDO designed it and Bharat Dynamics Limited manufactured this air defence system. It can gain a speed of Mach 5 and has an operational range of 3,000 km. The flight altitude of this missile is 80 Km.
Maitri Surface to air missile
The Maitri missile project was a cancelled proposal for a next-generation quick-reaction surface-to-air missile (QRSAM) with a lethal near-hundred per cent kill probability. It is planned for development by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation. It is a short-range which varies from 25–30 km, surface-to-air defence missile system.
The proposal was shelved and superseded by the QRSAM and VL-SRSAM missiles for the use of the Indian Army and Indian Navy respectively.
Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile
Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) is a missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Bharat Electronics Limited and Bharat Dynamics Limited for the Indian Army. It is meant for protecting moving armoured columns from aerial attacks.
QRSAM has a fully automated Command and Control System. The missile system possesses two four-walled radars both of which encompass a 360-degree coverage, namely, the Active Array Battery Surveillance Radar and the Active Array Battery Multifunction Radar, apart from the launcher while Laser proximity fuze ensures that missile can’t be jammed.
Vertical Launch-Short Range Surface to Air Missile
The Vertical Launch-Short Range Surface to Air Missile (VL-SRSAM) is a quick reaction surface-to-air missile developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). During mid-course flight, the missile uses fibre-optic gyroscope based inertial guidance mechanism while in terminal phase uses active radar homing. With lock on before launch (LOBL) and lock on after launch (LOAL) capability, the missile receives mid-course update via datalink. VL-SRSAM is intended to replace the older Barak 1 surface to air missile system onboard Indian Navy warships. It will also be used as a short range air defence system for the Indian Air Force.
Advanced Air Defence/ Ashwin Ballistic Missile Interceptor
Advanced Air Defence (AAD) is an anti-ballistic missile designed to intercept incoming ballistic missiles in the endo-atmosphere at an altitude of 40 km. AAD is a single-stage, solid-fuelled missile with siliconised carbon jet vanes. Guidance is similar to that of PAD with indigenous radio frequency seeker. It supports inertial navigation system (INS), mid-course updates from ground-based radar and active radar homing in the terminal phase. It is 7.5 m tall, weighs around 1.2 t and a diameter of less than 0.5 m.
XR-SAM
XR-SAM (Extra long Range Surface to Air Missile) is an Indian long-range mobile surface to air missile defence system under development by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It will supplement the Indo-Israeli Barak 8 and Russian S-400 missile system in the Indian armed forces. It is estimated to have a range of 350-400 km.
References from :-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_missiles_by_country#India
