Long-Range Hypersonic Missile

• Recently, India’s DRDO successfully conducted the maiden flight test of its long-range hypersonic missile off the coast of Odisha, marking a significant milestone in the nation’s advanced defence capabilities. The missile, with a range of over 1,500 km, highlights India’s growing defense capabilities.

About Long-Range Hypersonic Missile

• Indigenous Development: Developed by DRDO with contributions from the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex, Hyderabad, and various other DRDO labs and industry partners.
• Strategic Importance: With high speed and maneuverability, the missile enhances India’s defense capabilities, enabling precise strikes and bypassing conventional missile defense systems.
• Global Advancements: Countries like Russia, China, the U.S., India, France, Japan, and Australia are advancing hypersonic missile technologies to bolster their military strength.
• Successful Trial: Successfully tracked using multiple monitoring systems, confirming its terminal maneuvers and accurate impact.
• Applications: Designed for use across India’s Army, Navy, and Air Force, with a naval version in development to target enemy warships at long distances.

What is Hypersonic Missile?

• It is an advanced weapon system capable of travelling at speeds five times the speed of sound. Their range typically varies between 6,125 km/h (Mach 5) and about 24,140 km/h (Mach 20).
• Unlike ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles are highly manoeuvrable, allowing them to change their flight path and precisely target specific locations.
• They can carry conventional or nuclear warheads, making them versatile for different types of missions.
• US, Russia, China and India are at the forefront of hypersonic missile development. Other countries like France, Germany, Japan, & Australia also work on hypersonic weapons technology.

Types

1. Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (HGVs): Launched like a ballistic missile, these glide towards the target after separating from the booster.
2. Hypersonic Cruise Missiles: These use scramjet engines to sustain hypersonic speeds throughout their flight, flying at lower altitudes and being highly maneuverable.

Advantages of Hypersonic Missiles

• Responsive Long-Range Strike Capability: Hypersonic missiles can quickly and accurately strike distant, defended, or time-critical targets, such as mobile missile launchers.
• Enhanced Penetration: Using only kinetic energy (the energy derived from their high-speed motion), they can destroy unhardened targets and penetrate underground facilities.

Challenges in Developing Hypersonic Missiles

• Extreme Heat Generation: The speed of the missile generates intense heat, requiring advanced materials to withstand these conditions.
• Precise Control & Guidance Systems: Ensuring accuracy at such high speeds requires sophisticated guidance and control mechanisms.
• Detection & Tracking: High-speed and unpredictable flight paths complicate tracking and interception.
• Effectiveness of Interception Systems: Traditional missile defence systems are not designed to cope with the unique characteristics of hypersonic missiles.

Reference: PMF IAS: Indigenous Defence Technology | Indian Express

PMF IAS Pathfinder for Mains – Question 10

Q. Evaluate the significance of India successfully test-firing a long-range hypersonic missile in strengthening its defence capabilities. (150 Words) (10 Marks)

Approach

• Introduction: Briefly mention about India’s successful test-firing of a long-range hypersonic missile.
• Body: Discuss the significance of long-range hypersonic missiles and the key challenges.
• Conclusion: Conclude with highlighting it’s importance in promoting regional stability and peace.