Indian missiles

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said there was a growing interest among various countries in the Indian missiles and the government wanted to sell them to friendly nations. “The interest in Indian missiles is definitely growing and we are addressing it,” she said. Countries like Vietnam were keen on buying the supersonic BrahMos missile from India.

Citing negotiations over aspects like cost, she said that arriving at a decision on a deal was at times “frustrating”, but the interest in the Indian missiles is “sustained.” The Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) is an is managed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The IGMDP is one of India's most successful defence research project, as all the missiles – Prithvi, Akash, Trishul, Nag, Agni – have been successfully tested and inducted by the Indian armed forces.

The project commenced in early 80s under the leadership of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Four projects, to be pursued concurrently, were born under the IGMDP: Short range surface-to-surface missile (code-named Prithvi); Short range low-level surface-to-air missile (code-named Trishul); Medium range surface-to-air missile (code-named Akash) and Third-generation anti-tank missile (code-named Nag).

Brahmos is the first supersonic cruise missile known to be in service. It has flight range of 290-km with supersonic speed all through the flight, according to www.brahmos.com. It represents the fury of Brahmaputra and the grace of Moskva rivers. It is a joint venture with Russia.

Dhanush is a variant of the surface-to-surface or ship-to-ship Prithvi III missile, which has been developed for the Indian Navy. Advanced BRAHMOS Block III land attack cruise missile system was successfully tested in May. A Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) was successfully flight tested in July.