Missile Systems

Siva Prasad
 What is a missile

• Amissile is an intelligent unmanned rocket designed to carry the payload

to a designated point with an aim of destroying the object or target.

• Target, trajectory, warhead, range, velocity and launch platform are taken
into consideration before designing a missile
 Guidance System
• A guidance system is needed to maintain the missile in its desired flight path by
using altitude control mechanism.

• The guidance system operates as an autopilot, damping out fluctuations that

tend to deflect the missile from its intended flight path.

• In some missiles, the guidance commands are generated internally by the

missile’s computer. In others, the commands are transmitted to the weapon by
some external source (Externally controlled through remote controls).

• The guidance for the missiles is provided by GPS, Inertial guidance system,
lasers, TV, Infra-red and radar. Sometimes a combination of two or more
systems can be used to provide precision guidance and targeting to the missile.
 Warhead

• The explosive head of a missile, torpedo, or similar weapon

 Stealth technology

• To camouflage the missile - make the missile less visible or invisible in the
electromagnetic spectrum

• Making missiles less visible to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection
methods

• If missiles get detected easily then they can be countered therefore stealth
technology is required for enhanced strike capabilities
 Speed of missiles

• Subsonic – speed less than that of sound.

• Supersonic – speed greater than that of sound.

• Hypersonic – speeds of more than five times the speed of sound (Mach
5).
 Propulsion System

• What makes the missile move

• The propulsion system in a missile is required to achieve terminal

conditions like range, speed and warhead carrying capability.

• The missile is propelled either by rockets or jet engines using solid or

liquid fuel. Some missiles use hybrid technology for propelling.
 Propulsion system

• Thrust is the force which moves any aircraft through the air.

• Thrust is generated by the propulsion system of the aircraft.

• Different propulsion systems develop thrust in different ways, but all thrust
is generated through some application of Newton's third law of motion.
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Propulsion system
 Propulsion Systems
• Solid propulsion

• Liquid propulsion

• Hybrid propulsion

• Ramjet

• Scramjet

• Cryogenic
 Solid Propulsion

• Solid fuel is used in solid propulsion.

• Generally, the fuel is aluminium powder or gun powder

• Solid propulsion has the advantage of being easily stored and can be
handled in fuelled condition.

• It can reach very high speeds quickly

 Liquid Propulsion
• The liquid propulsion technology uses liquid as fuel.

• The fuels are hydrocarbons.

• The storage of missile with liquid fuel is difficult and complex.

• Preparation of missile takes considerable time.

• In liquid propulsion, propulsion can be controlled easily by restricting the

fuel flow by using valves
 Hybrid Propulsions

• There are 2 stages in hybrid propulsion: solid propulsion and liquid

propulsion.

• Tackles the disadvantages of both the systems and puts together the
advantages of both
 Ramjet
• A Ramjet, s is a form of air-breathing jet engine that uses the engine's forward
motion to compress incoming air without an axial compressor or a centrifugal
compressor.

• Because ramjets cannot produce thrust at zero airspeed, they cannot move an
aircraft from a standstill.

• A ramjet-powered vehicle, therefore, requires an assisted take-off like a rocket

assist to accelerate it to a speed where it begins to produce thrust. Ramjets work
most efficiently at supersonic speeds around Mach 3 (2,300 mph; 3,700 km/h).

• This type of engine can operate up to speeds of Mach 6 (4,600 mph; 7,400 km/

h).
Ramjet
 Scramjet
• A scramjet (supersonic combustion ramjet) is a variant of a ramjet
airbreathing jet engine in which combustion takes place in supersonic
airflow. As in ramjets, a scramjet relies on high vehicle speed to compress
the inco

• ming air forcefully before combustion (hence ramjet), but whereas a ramjet
decelerates the air to subsonic velocities before combustion, the airflow in
a scramjet is supersonic throughout the entire engine.

• That allows the scramjet to operate efficiently at extremely high speeds

Scramjet
 Cryogenic
• Cryogenic propellants are liquefied gases stored at very low temperatures,
most frequently liquid hydrogen as the fuel and liquid oxygen as the oxidizer.

• Cryogenic propellants require special insulated containers and vents which

allow gas to escape from the evaporating liquids.

• The liquid fuel and oxidizer are pumped from the storage tanks to an
expansion chamber and injected into the combustion chamber where they
are mixed and ignited by a flame or spark.

• The fuel expands as it burns and the hot exhaust gases are directed out of
the nozzle to provide thrust
Cryogenic
 Ballistic Missiles
• Ballistic missiles follow an arc-like trajectory and are launched from the land or sea

• They usually carry a nuclear warhead and are very heavy

• They rely on Earth’s gravity to fly down once launched

• They have much larger range

• These missiles are guided. That is, the flight path is pre-determined and very small
alterations in flight are possible, if at all.

• Examples include Agni Missiles, Prithvi Missiles, Akash, Trishul, Maitri, Dhanush,
Sagarika, K4, K5
 Cruise Missiles
• Cruise missiles can also be launched from air and fly within Earth’s atmosphere

• They have their own engines and wings to strike the target

• They can be supersonic or sub-sonic and are highly accurate

• They usually carry conventional warheads although some cruise missiles can
also be equipped with nuclear warheads

• These missiles are guided. That is, the flight path is pre-determined and very
small alterations in flight are possible, if at all.

• Examples include Brahmos Missiles, Nirbhay Missile

India’s Defence Capabilities
 Agni Missiles
• These are long-range ballistic missiles that can carry nuclear warheads.

• They are classified into three types: Medium Range Ballistic Missiles
(MRBM), Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBM) and Intercontinental
Ballistic Missiles (ICBM).

• Agni I - MRBM with range 700-1200 Km

• Agni II, Agni III and Agni IV are IRBM; Agni IV has a range of 2500-3700 Km

• Agni V and Agni VI - ICBM; Agni V is tested and has a range of

5000-8000Km
 Agni Missiles
• Agni VI is under development; it is to have a range of 10000-12000 Km

• Agni I to Agni IV have already been deployed

• All of these missiles are surface to surface missiles

• Agni-I,Agni-II and Agni-III missiles were developed under the Integrated

Guided Missile Development Program

• Agni IV + Agni V – high accuracy Ring Laser Gyro based Inertial

Navigation System (RINS) and the most modern and accurate Micro
Navigation System (MINS)
 Prithvi Missiles
• Prithvi Missiles are tactical surface-to-surface short-range ballistic
missiles (SRBM)

• Dhanush– Dhanush is a naval version of Prithvi which can be launched

from ships. Dhanush can fire modified versions of Prithvi-II or Prithvi-III.

• Dhanush is a variant of the surface-to-surface or ship-to-ship Prithvi III

missile, which has been developed for the Indian Navy. It is capable of
carrying both conventional as well as nuclear warheads with pay-load
capacity of 500 kg-1000 kg and can strike targets in the range of 350 km.
 Aakash Missile
• Aaakash is a medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile defence system
developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO),
Ordnance Factories Board and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

• The missile system can target aircraft up to 30 km away, at altitudes up to 18 Km

• Can be launched from static or mobile platform

• Can carry conventional and nuclear warheads

• Can operate in all weather conditions.

• Other surface to air missiles - Trishul and Maitri

 Nag Missile
• Nag is India’s third generation “Fire-and-forget” anti-tank missile.

• It is an all weather, top attack missile with a range of 3 to 7 km. 

• Nag uses Imaging Infra-Red (IIR) guidance with day and night capability.

• It can be mounted on an infantry vehicle

• A variant of NAG Missile to be launched from Helicopter is being

developed under the Project named HELINA (HELIcopter launched NAg)
 K Missile Series

• The K family of missiles is a series of submarine-launched ballistic

missiles (SLBM) developed by India to boost its second-strike capabilities
and thus the nuclear deterrence.

• The three missiles current under development/testing under this series are
K-15, K-4, and K-5.

• These missiles are intended to be armed with Arihant-class submarines.

 BrahMos Missile
• The BrahMos is a short range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be
launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land.

• It is a joint venture between the Russia and India who have together formed
BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.

• It is the world’s fastest cruise missile in operation. The missile travels at speeds of
Mach 2.8 to 3.0 and has a maximum range of 290 km.

• BrahMos missiles come in three variants: surface-launched, air-launched and

submarine as well as ship launched.

• BrahMos II, currently under development, will be a Hypersonic cruise missile

capable of flying at a speed greater than 5 Mach.
 Nirbhay
• First long range subsonic cruise missile

• Nirbhay is an all-weather long-range nuclear warhead capable cruise

missile with stealth and high accuracy.

• The missile has a range of more than 1000 km.

• It carries a ring laser gyroscope for high-accuracy navigation and a radio

altimeter for the height determination.

• It is capable of being launched from multiple platforms on land, sea and

air and will be inducted into Indian Navy, Army, and Air Force.
 Astra Missile

• Astra is an active radar homing beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile

(BVRAAM).

• Astra is designed to be capable of engaging targets at varying range and

altitudes allowing for engagement of both short-range targets (up to 20
km) and long-range targets (up to 80 km) using alternative propulsion
modes.