Rudram-1 (NGARM)
DRDO Anti-radiation missile Rudram-1 on a Su-30MKI
TypeAir-to-surface anti-radiation missile[1]
Place of originIndia
Service history
In service2022 (planned)[2]
Used byIndian Air Force
Production history
DesignerDefence Research and Development Organisation
Designed2012–present
ManufacturerBharat Dynamics Limited
Bharat Electronics
Adani Defence and Aerospace
ProducedUnder Development
Variants
  • Rudram-1
  • Rudram-2
  • Rudram-3
Specifications
MassRudram-1 : 600 kg (1,300 lb)[3]
Length5.5 m (18 ft)
Warhead
Warhead weight
  • Rudram-1 : 55 kg (121 lb)[6]
  • Rudram-2 Anti Radiation : 155 kg (342 lb)
  • Rudram-2 Ground Attack : 200 kg (440 lb)[7]
Detonation
mechanism
Optical proximity fuze
EngineDual-pulsed rocket motor
PropellantSolid fuel
Operational
range
  • Rudram-1 : 150 km (93 mi)[8]
  • Rudram-2 : 300 km (190 mi)[9]
  • Rudram-3 : 550 km (340 mi)[10]
Flight altitude
  • Rudram-1 : 1 km to 15 km[11]
  • Rudram-2 : 3 km to 40 km[12]
Maximum speed
Guidance
system
  • Rudram-1 :

Mid-course : INS + Passive radar homing

Terminal : MMW Active radar homing[15][16]

  • Rudram-2 Ground Attack :

Mid-course : INS + SatNav

Terminal : IIR homing

  • Rudram-2 Anti Radiation :

Mid-course : INS + SatNav + Passive radar homing

Terminal : IIR homing[17]
Accuracy5 m CEP
Launch
platform

The Rudram (IAST: Rudram, meaning remover of sorrows)[18] is a series of air-to-surface ground attack and anti-radiation missiles in development by the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India.[19] It can be launched from a range of altitudes with large standoff distance[20][21] for destroying enemy surveillance radars, communication stations and bunkers.[22][23]

It will be manufactured jointly by Bharat Dynamics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited after trials and introduction.[24] DRDO also involved Adani Defence and Aerospace under Development cum Production Partner programme for mass production.[25] The hypersonic variant Rudram-2 will also be manufactured by Adani Defence and Aerospace in their Hyderabad facility.[26]

Description

Defence Research and Development Laboratory is the primary agency which carried out the design and development of the missile system along with Armament Research and Development Establishment, Defence Electronics Research Laboratory, High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Research Centre Imarat and Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory.[27] Many subsystem level developmental works were outsourced to private sector players.[28] Software Development Institute of the Indian Air Force (IAF)[29] helped in the integration of DRDO ARM with Sukhoi Su-30MKI while the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Nasik Division did the AKU-58 launcher modification which undertook extensive wind-tunnel tests at National Trisonic Aerodynamic Facilities division of National Aerospace Laboratories, Bengaluru.[30][31][32]

DRDO ARM has a range of 100–250 km[33][34] which is made to be integrated with Sukhoi Su-30MKI as its primary test platform, although can be used with Dassault Mirage 2000, SEPECAT Jaguar, HAL Tejas and HAL Tejas Mark 2/MWF in future.[1] According to the then Director of Research Centre Imarat, G. Satheesh Reddy, the missile will feature a millimetre wave seeker (mmW) transmitting on frequencies of 30 gigahertz and above while capable of lock-on before launch and lock-on after launch modes.[35][36] Mid-course guidance is accomplished through inertial navigation system and two-way datalink combined with Global Positioning System/NavIC satellite guidance through digital filtering as fall back to correct accumulated errors and a passive homing head (PHH) seeker which is developed by Defence Electronics Research Laboratory that can detect radio frequency emissions from 100 km away. PHH is a wide-band receiver system operating within D band to J band frequency of the electromagnetic spectrum.[37] Its compact front-end structure is due to the use of monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) technology for identification of radiation emitting sources.[38][39][40]

The missile is a single-stage, approximately 5.5-metre in length and 600 kg[41] of weight with cruciform wing surface to increase high maneuverability and to give constant aerodynamic characteristics similar to Astra beyond-visual-range missile.[38] It uses pre-fragmented warhead with optical proximity fuze and is powered by a dual-pulsed solid rocket motor made by Premier Explosives Limited under technology transfer from DRDO.[42][43] The dual-pulsed solid rocket motor produces variable thrust within a range of 0.6 to 2 Mach that reduces the overall reaction time while widening the targeting envelope as well as the engagement capability. DRDO ARM can target mobile integrated air-defence system as well as radar station that shutdown to avoid detection.[33][44]

Development and trials

Rudram-1 on Sukhoi Su-30MKI

Development had begun by April 2012 at Defence Research and Development Laboratory.[45] The project was officially approved in December 2012 with a budget of ₹317.2 crore (equivalent to ₹598 crore or US$75 million in 2023) with project completion by 2017.[46][47] The feasibility studies were done in 2012–2013 with the aim is to develop a fully indigenous tactical, anti-radiation capable missile for the Indian Air force (IAF) which is comparable to AGM-88E AARGM, MAR-1, Kh-31P and better than Martel or Kh-25MP.[35]

From 2014, the development of missile picked up interest of the IAF.[31] As of 2014, missile design and hardware development are in progress with first successful flight trial to happen before year 2017.[48] IAF was initially very concerned with the higher weight and shorter range of new missile compare to the western ones due to the use of bulky Russian made radio frequency (RF) seekers.[49] IAF at the same time was also negotiating with USA for 1,500 AGM-88E which IAF was planning to induct in the next five years.[24][50] The technologies that were developed by DRDO for NGARM are wide-band passive seeker, milli-metric wave active seeker, radome for the seekers and dual-pulsed propulsion system which are mostly lessons learnt during the development of Astra and Barak 8.[50]

The Captive Flight Trial–1 of DRDO ARM was completed in April/May 2016 by No. 20 Squadron of IAF which checked the performance of seeker, navigation and control system, structural capability and aerodynamic vibrations while the Drop Flight Trial was completed by December 2016 with the missile released by Sukhoi Su-30MKI at a speed of 0.8 Mach, from 6.5 km altitude.[51][52] Further carriage flight test was carried out to check mechanical/electrical integration as well as software interfacing of the missile before the maiden flight on 18 January 2018, where the missile was successfully flight tested for the first time on parametres such as auto-launch sequence, store separation, control guidance, aerodynamics, thermal batteries, airframe and propulsion without a seeker which were all proven successful.[53] On 25 January 2019, NGARM was fired from a Sukhoi Su-30MKI over Bay of Bengal off the coast of Odisha that hit the designated target with a high degree of accuracy.[54][55] The missile achieved an accuracy within 10 m CEP covering a range of 100 km.[32] The developmental test proved the performance of seeker, structural integrity of the missile, correct functioning of navigation and control system while validation of aerodynamic capability.[38] The missile can strike at distances double the intended range depending upon the altitude. NGARM will further undergo series of carriage and release flight trials to check the performance of seekers against a different range of targets.

Next trials during the period of July to August 2019 will be conducted initially to check the performance of indigenous passive seeker developed by Defence Electronics Research Laboratory with further test for an active seeker at later stage.[31] While the crucial sensor technology is yet to be fully mastered by DRDO, the IAF wants fast track development of NGARM due to urgent requirement of newer anti-radiation missile.[56] NGARM developmental trials will resume from 2020 after a gap of two years.[57]

The DRDO Anti-Radiation Missile or NGARM now officially named Rudram-1 was successfully test-fired from Integrated Test Range, Balasore on 9 October 2020.[58][59][60] DRDO is planning final test flight between 28 and 29 December 2021 before moving Rudram-1 for serial production from 2022.[61]

Induction

According to report, the plan is to make the missile a part of the Air Force by 2022 after conducting six to seven more tests. The missile's passive homing head can detect, classify and engage targets over a wide band of frequencies as programmed.[62]

Production

Indian Air Force started working on a proposal to place ₹1,400 crore order for Rudram-1. It was already under review in Ministry of Defence (MoD) and awaiting final call from senior officials.[63]

Future development

DRDO is planning to bring further software improvements to handle a larger variety of targets under various operational conditions while developing a separate ground-based variant to be launched from mobile launcher.[24][31] DRDO is developing Rudram-2 with a range of 300 km and air to ground version Rudram-3 with 550 km range.[64]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Y. Mallikarjun (17 February 2016). "Captive flight trials of anti-radiation missile soon". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  2. ↑ Jha, Saurav (8 February 2021). "Developing Any Kind of Missile Is Not Much of an Issue For DRDO Anymore: Satheesh Reddy". Delhi Defence Review. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  3. ↑ "India's next-gen anti-radiation missile set for trials". The Week. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  4. ↑ "Rudram-1 at Defence Expo 2022".
  5. ↑ "Rudram-2 at Defence Expo 2022".
  6. ↑ "Rudram-1 at Defence Expo 2022".
  7. ↑ "Rudram-2 at Defence Expo 2022".
  8. ↑ "Rudram-1 at Defence Expo 2022".
  9. ↑ "Rudram-2 at Defence Expo 2022".
  10. ↑ Pandit, Rajat (6 October 2022). "IAF to arm more Sukhois with BrahMos missiles, even as plan afoot to upgrade entire fleet indigenously". The Times of India. TNN. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  11. ↑ "Rudram-1 at Defence Expo 2022".
  12. ↑ "Rudram-2 at Defence Expo 2022".
  13. ↑ "India tests Rudram-1".
  14. ↑ "Rudram-2 at Defence Expo 2022".
  15. ↑ "Rudram-1 Specsheet".
  16. ↑ "Rudram-1 at Defence Expo 2022".
  17. ↑ "Rudram-2 at Defence Expo 2022".
  18. ↑ Kulkarni, Sushant (11 October 2020). "Why anti-radiation missile Rudram matters". The Indian Express. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  19. ↑ Linganna, Girish (31 July 2022). "The underdog Rudram missiles: India's mysterious anti-radiation munition". Financialexpress. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  20. ↑ "India Tests New Anti-Radiation NGARM Missile To Destroy Surveillance Targets". EurAsian Times. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  21. ↑ "DRDO Bets Big on Indigenous Capabilities". Daily Defence News. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  22. ↑ "DRDO Tests New Anti-Radiation Missile". www.defense-aerospace.com. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  23. ↑ "DRDO Makes Country Proud By Successfully Testing Anti-Radiation Missile Ahead of R-Day". indiatimes.com. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  24. 1 2 3 Raghuvanshi, Vivek (8 August 2017). "Indian AF Says New Indigenous Missile Will Be Too Heavy". Defense News. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  25. ↑ Manghat, Sajeet (19 October 2022). "How Adani Defence Has Scaled Up In The Last Five Years". BQ Prime. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  26. ↑ "Hyderabad may become India's defence manufacturing hub; city gets ₹1,500 crore boost from Adani Group". The Economic Times. 12 January 2024. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  27. ↑ "Drdl". drdo-ada-aeroindia2019. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  28. ↑ Raghu, K. (14 June 2009). "DRDO turns to local vendors to save costs, expedite projects". Livemint. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  29. ↑ "Indian Air Force Software Development Institute". Ministry of Defence, Government of India. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  30. ↑ "Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in 2016 | ADU". www.aviation-defence-universe.com. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  31. 1 2 3 4 "India's next-gen anti-radiation missile set for trials". The Week. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  32. 1 2 "Next-gen desi anti-radiation missile set for trials with passive seeker". OnManorama. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  33. 1 2 Gupta, Shishir (9 October 2020). "India test-fires Rudram 1, its first anti-radiation missile to kill enemy radars". Hindustan Times. ANI. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  34. ↑ Aroor, Shiv. "Revealed: India's Naval Anti-Ship Missile Breaks Cover At #DefExpo2020". Livefist Defence. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  35. 1 2 "Indian Air Force's New NARGM Anti-Radiation Missile Detailed". www.monch.com. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  36. ↑ Jha, Saurav (12 September 2014). "Seeking the future: An interview with Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Director Research Centre Imarat". News18.com. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  37. ↑ "Rudram missile: Know more about India's indigenously developed NGARM". Hindustan Times. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  38. 1 2 3 "DRDO's Maiden trial of anti-radiation missile in coastal Odisha a success". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  39. ↑ Jha, Saurav (19 April 2018). "A Closer Look at DRDO's New Generation Anti-Radiation Missile". Delhi Defence Review. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  40. ↑ "NGARM (PHH)". Defence Research and Development Organisation. 17 February 2020.
  41. ↑ "Maiden test of anti-radiation missile soon". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  42. ↑ "Premier Explosives takes part in Team Astra missile production partner meet". @businessline. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  43. ↑ "Premier Explosives surges 15% on order win from Israel company". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  44. ↑ "India's Next Gen Anti-Radiation Missile Likely To Begin Trials in July or August". www.defenseworld.net. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  45. ↑ "India developing radar-destroying Anti-Radiation Missile". DNA India. Press Trust of India. 29 April 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  46. ↑ "Fifth report of the Standing Committee on Defence (2014–2015)" (PDF). New Delhi: Lok Sabha Secretariat. December 2014. p. 58.
  47. ↑ Y. Mallikarjun (26 January 2013). "Anti-radiation missile by DRDO to be ready in 3–5 years". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  48. ↑ "Interview with Dr Avinash Chander, DRDO Chief and Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister - Saurav Jha' Blog". News18. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  49. ↑ "Air Weapons: India Tries To Survive A Broken ARM". www.strategypage.com. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  50. 1 2 "DRDO NGARM:- India's Next Gen Radar Destroying Anti Radiation Missile". Indian Defence Update. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  51. ↑ "Year End Review: Achievements of Ministry of Defence – India Strategic". Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  52. ↑ "DRDO To Begin Flight Trials Of Anti-Radiation Missile In 2016". www.defenseworld.net. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  53. ↑ "DRDO's Maiden trial of anti-radiation missile in coastal Odisha a success". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  54. ↑ Pandit, Rajat (24 January 2019). "India tests new anti-radiation missile to destroy enemy radars". The Times of India.
  55. ↑ "India testfires indigenous enemy radar-buster missile". www.aninews.in. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  56. ↑ Kumar, Chethan (1 April 2019). "Missile programme comes to aid of delay-plagued DRDO". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  57. ↑ "INTERVIEW | Youngsters can power India into a defence technology leader: Dr Satheesh Reddy". OnManorama. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  58. ↑ "भारत ने किया स्वदेशी एंटी रेडिएशन मिसाइल 'रुद्रम' का सफल परीक्षण, रक्षा मंत्री ने दी DRDO को बधाई". TV9 Bharatvarsh (in Hindi). 9 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  59. ↑ "भारत ने सुखोई लड़ाकू विमान से किया एंटी-रेडिएशन मिसाइल 'रुद्रम' का सफल परीक्षण". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  60. ↑ "India successfully test-fires Rudram Anti-Radiation Missile developed by DRDO". www.timesnownews.com. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  61. ↑ Chowdhury, Srinjoy (28 December 2021). "Safer skies! DRDO to launch next gen anti-radiation missile soon". Times Now News. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  62. ↑ "Rudram missile to be inducted into service by 2022: top officials". Kerala Kaumudi.
  63. ↑ "Air Force to order worth ₹1,400 cr for indigenous anti-radiation missiles". mint. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  64. ↑ Pandit, Rajat (6 October 2022). "IAF to arm more Sukhois with BrahMos missiles, even as plan afoot to upgrade entire fleet indigenously". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 October 2022.

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