By Girish Linganna
India successfully tested the surface-to-surface guided short-range ballistic missile Pralay off the coast of Odisha in Balasore last December. The missile was sent off from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island and did everything it was supposed to do and several instruments tracked the missile’s path along the coast, and the most important parts of the missile were watched as it flew.
Well, India has many types of missiles with much longer ranges. The new missile is a unique asset.
Why is India’s Pralay missile a big deal?
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is responsible for making Pralay. The new missile followed the desired Quasi Ballistic Trajectory – a low curved path an object takes after being thrown or shot. It can also perform a change in direction and change range. It hit its target with high accuracy, proving that the control guidance and mission algorithms worked.
Missile guidance is a term for how a missile or guided bomb can be led to its target.
Pralay is a Canisterised missile that can be carried in a strong metal container that holds chemicals or gases.
Tactical missiles are shorter-range weapons designed for use in the immediate combat area. Most of the time, the range is less than 300 km. Most tactical ballistic missiles are mobile, so they can stay alive and be used quickly. They can also carry a variety of warheads to hit their targets.
Pralay is a Hindi word that means “to be completely destroyed” or “to cause a lot of damage” (great destruction or damage).
So, the missile is very accurate and can kill. BrahMos cost a lot and can only carry about 200 kgs of weight. Because of this, the Indian Army has felt the need for a missile with a range of more than 150 kilometres that can also carry a bigger payload. This missile has a range of 150 to 500 kilometres, depending on the size of the warhead.
It is less than 10 metres accurate. The missile can carry between 350 kilogrammes and 700 kilogrammes of High Explosive Preformed Fragmentation Warhead, Penetration Cum Blast (PCB), or Runaway Denial Penetration Submunition (RDPS)
A high-explosive fragmentation warhead that has already been made consists of a kill mechanism made up of a metal case in which pre-shaped pieces are set in a resin matrix. When the warhead explodes, pieces are thrown out at high speed. These pieces hit the target and do the necessary damage.
The PCB bomb in the tactical ballistic missile is meant to blast through hard targets like concrete or targets buried deep underground, like military bunkers and missile silos. Cum is Latin for “with,” so it means “Penetration with Blast”. It can also mean penetration anti-tank weapon or an anti-infantry/soft target weapon blast.
RDPS bombs or bomblets damage the surface of an airport runway so that it can’t be used for flights. The bomb makes craters on the runway and renders it unusable for taking off and landing aircraft. At times, these bombs are used along with delayed fuse bombs to delay the runway repair. If it is dropped from a low-flying plane and slows down with a parachute. If it is dropped by a missile, then it is released at a certain altitude so that the bombs fall over a large area.
India also has a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile for the same purpose, but it costs around 22 Crores. It is expected that the Pralay will cost one-third of this.
The Pralay missile is like the Chinese Dongfeng 12, the Russian 9k 720 Iskander missile and the US Army’s Precision Strike Missile (PrSM).
The US, Russia, India, China and Israel are working on missile defence systems that can shoot down missiles like Pralay. It’s like trying to stop one bullet with another.
The enemy missile is always tracked, and its path is sent to the battle station. The battle station then sends interceptor missiles into the air to destroy the incoming threats. Since ballistic missiles usually follow a parabolic path already set, the trajectory can be figured out in advance.
Pralay is a surface-to-surface missile that is almost like a ballistic missile. The advanced missile was made in a way that made it hard for interceptors to stop it. To defeat the anti-missile systems, it can change its flight path after going a certain distance.
This missile also carries multiple warheads, including dummy warheads, to confuse the enemy anti-missile systems. During the Gulf war, the US Patriot anti-missile systems were very less effective against the old Iraqi scuds. The gunners did not know what to shoot as the Scud missile parts fell along with the missile warhead.
It is designed to replace Prithvi Missile in the Indian forces inventory. The difference is that the Prithvi missile is a liquid-fuelled missile that is very difficult to handle and must be refuelled before the launch. Liquid fuels are very corrosive, meaning they destroy the metal container they are stored in. In a missile, if liquid fuel is stored for a long time, the missile material will be damaged or may even leak. Pralay is a solid fuelled and has got the most updated electronics. Prithvi was one of the first missiles to be inducted into the Indian arsenal
Prithvi missiles have been upgraded in between and have now come to their end of life and Pralay missiles have been ordered by the Indian Armed Forces.
Author is an Aerospace & Defence Analyst.
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