List of Important Missiles in India
Defense is an important and dynamic segment in Competitive Exam Syllabus. Several questions are asked related to the missile launch, its type etc. According to the recent trends It is very important to know about important missiles of India because during IBPS/SBI PO & Clerk or other banking Examinations, you may ask 1-2 questions on missiles of India.
In this article we are going to provide you the list of Important missiles of India which will be helpful to tackle the question related to missiles in various competitive exams SSC, IAS, SSC CPO, CAPF and Bank.
Historical Background:
- Mysorean rockets were the first iron-cased rockets that were successfully deployed for military use.
- Hyder Ali, the 18th century ruler of Mysore, and his son and successor, Tipu Sultan used them effectively against the British East India Company.
- Realizing the importance of guided missile weapon systems in the modern warfare, a Special Weapon Development Team (SWDT) was formed in 1958. This team was later expanded into DRDL.
- In 1970s, the Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL) undertook the Project Devil and Project Valiant.
- The Project Devil was aimed to produce short range surface-to-air missile.
- The project Valiant was aimed to produce long-range ballistic missile.
- Both Projects were considered failures.
- Project Valiant was terminated in 1974 and Project Devil ended in 1980.
Types of Missiles:
- Ballisitc Missiles
- Cruise Missiles
A ballistic missile is a missile (rocket) that follows a ballistic trajectory with the objective of delivering one or more warheads to a predetermined target. These missiles are guided for brief duration just in starting phase of trajectory and the rest of the path is like a free falling projectile under gravity.
Examples: All the variants of Prithvi are SRBMs while Agni I to Agni IV are IRBM while Agni V and Agni VI are ICBMs
Ballistic missiles, based on launch mode can be classified as:
Surface-to-Surface Missile, Surface-to-Air Missile, Surface to-Sea Missile, Air-to-Air Missile, Air-to-Surface Missile, Sea-to-Sea Missile, Sea-to-Surface Missile, Anti-Tank Missile.
Ballistic missiles, based on maximum range can be classified as:
- Short Range Missile (SRBM)
- Medium Range Missile (MRBM)
- Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM)
- Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)
A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. These missiles are self navigating and fly at extremely low altitudes to avoid being caught by radars. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy.
Examples: Brahmos and Nirbhay
Depending upon the speed such missiles are classified as:
- Subsonic cruise missile [Flies at a speed lesser than that of sound.(0.8 Mach)]
- Supersonic cruise missile [Exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 2-3)]
- Hypersonic cruise missile [Travels at a speed of more than 5 Mach.]
“The speed of Mach 1 is equal to the speed of sound”.
Complete List of all Indian Missiles with Range and Type
Missile Name
|
Origin | Type | Range |
Astra Missile | India | Air-to-Air Missiles | 60 – 80 km |
K-100 | Russia & India | Medium Range air-to-air missile | 300–400 km |
Akash Missile | India | Medium-range surface-to-air missile | 30-35 km |
Barak 8 | Isreal /India | Long Range surface to air Missile | 100 km |
Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) | India | Exo-atmospheric Anti-ballistic missile | Altitude- 80 km |
Advanced Air Defence (AAD) | India | Endoatmospheric Anti-ballistic missile | Altitude- 30 km |
Prithvi Defence Vehicle (PDV) | India | Exo-atmospheric Anti-ballistic missile | Altitude- 120km |
Nirbhay | India | Subsonic cruise missile(Ship, submarine, aircraft and land) | 1,000 -1500 km |
BrahMos | Russia & India | Supersonic cruise missile(Ship, submarine, aircraft and land) | 290 km |
BrahMos II | India | Hypersonic cruise missile(Ship, submarine, aircraft and land) | 300 km |
Agni-I | India | Medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) | 700-1250 km |
Agni-II | India | Intermediate-range ballistic missile(IRBM) | 2,000 - 3,000 km |
Agni-III | India | Intermediate-range ballistic missile(IRBM) | 3,500 km - 5,000 km |
Agni-IV | India | Intermediate-range ballistic missile(IRBM) | 3,000 - 4,000 km |
Agni-V | India | Intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM) | 5000 - 8000 km |
Prithvi I | India | Short Range Ballistic Missile(Tactical) | 150 km |
Prithvi II | India | Short Range Ballistic Missile(Tactical) | 350 km |
Dhanush | India | Short Range Ballistic Missile(Tactical) | 350 - 600 km |
Prahaar(Pragati) | India | Short Range Ballistic Missile(Tactical) | 150 km |
Shaurya | India | Medium-Range Ballistic Missile (MRBM) | 750 - 1,900 km |
Sagarika (K-15) | India | Ballistic Missile | 700 - 1900 km |
K-4 | India | Ballistic Missile | 3,500 - 5,000 km |
K-5 | India | Ballistic Missile | 6,000 km |
Nag | India | Anti-Tank Guided Missile | 4 km |
Helina(HELIcopter launched NAg) | India | Anti-Tank Guided Missile |
7-8 km
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