Indian Missiles and Munitions Discussion - June'14

member_22539 · Post by **member_22539** » 29 Dec 2014 06:05

^From what I have read, while throttling is not possible, burn time is most certainly much much more than solid fueled SAMs that coast for most of the engagement. As a result, it can pull off things that would severely bleed energy in a solid fueled SAM to the point of mission failure. I think the Akash rocket motor burns for all of the 25 to 30 km range (Please correct if wrong).

srai · Post by **srai** » 29 Dec 2014 06:15

Thakur_B wrote:The Navy, I believe, is on board with Maitri. They have started searching for alternatives because Maitri project is in Coma. Hopefully DRDL's QRSAM interceptor will replace VL-MICA in naval role as well.

Wondering why Barak-8 can't be used? It has good minimum range to go along with its 70km max range. They could reduce the size of associated systems like radars for smaller ships while using the same compact missiles.

Thakur_B · Post by **Thakur_B** » 29 Dec 2014 06:46

srai wrote: Wondering why Barak-8 can't be used?

Size and complexity issues, maybe.

John · Post by **John** » 29 Dec 2014 07:42

Wasn't Israel supposedly using Barak-8 seeker for its C dome and it uses Barak-1 missile?

Arun Menon wrote:^From what I have read, while throttling is not possible, burn time is most certainly much much more than solid fueled SAMs that coast for most of the engagement. As a result, it can pull off things that would severely bleed energy in a solid fueled SAM to the point of mission failure. I think the Akash rocket motor burns for all of the 25 to 30 km range (Please correct if wrong).

Perhaps i believe burn duration is around 20 seconds but that is partly off set by the fact that motor has much lower impulse than solid propellant missile. Missile like Buk can reach peak velocity of Mach 4, so you are still looking at terminal velocity Mach 2.5>. And most modern missile fly highly optimized flight paths so even at ranges greater than 50 km they are still capable of engaging a maneuvering target (Barak-8, Aster etc).

member_28911 · Post by **member_28911** » 29 Dec 2014 17:33

@Saurav Jha:

Oh by the way the Nirbhay's indigenous engine is called Manik now and a 700 kgf class engine is also in the works.

Gyan · Post by **Gyan** » 30 Dec 2014 13:49

IIRC Akash solid fueled booster fires for 5 secs and then Ramjet for 25 secs. The Derby missile of Spyder system fires for 5 secs.

srai · Post by **srai** » 30 Dec 2014 18:07

Gyan wrote:IIRC Akash solid fueled booster fires for 5 secs and then Ramjet for 25 secs. The Derby missile of Spyder system fires for 5 secs.

AeroIndia 2013

Speed -> 25km in 35 seconds. [Booster -> 4.6s; Sustainer -> 35.5s] That's roughly 700m/s.
Warhead lethality -> 50 meters

Thakur_B · Post by **Thakur_B** » 30 Dec 2014 19:10

Fom MoD year end statement:-
- Astra is already in user trials.
- HeliNa is integrated with Rudra

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=114175

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 31 Dec 2014 16:50

Agni-V launch postponed - The Hindu

The third flight-trial of Agni-V strategic missile, which was to take place any day between January 11 and 15, 2015 from Wheeler Island, off the Odisha coast, has been postponed. The lift-off is likely to take place in the last week of January or early February 2015.

Officials of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which has built the missile, declined to reveal the reasons behind the postponement. “It is non-technical in nature,” they said.

Teams, which had reached Wheeler Island to prepare for the lift-off, are returning to various DRDO centres across the country.

The missile, which can carry a nuclear warhead weighing 1.5 tonnes, can reach targets more than 5,000 km away. The importance of the third flight-trial of Agni-V is that it will be a canisterised launch

dinesha · Post by **dinesha** » 31 Dec 2014 16:54

^^^^The reasons behind the postponement is "OBAMA"..

vishvak · Post by **vishvak** » 31 Dec 2014 18:23

The non-technical reasons were earlier limited to nuke tests. Now it is also about Agni-5.

Tomorrow, Americans will claim that there is enough space of correct technical reasoning to push for one-way-only conversion laws otherwise the majority in USA will be angry only on heetheins and pegeins. NVM, we are already at it.

Sagar G · Post by **Sagar G** » 31 Dec 2014 19:08

He he Jan 26 happens to be Monday and the last week of Jan 15, it would be a good message if we test it on 26th itself or 25th but an ICBM which doesn't reach the US mainland won't rub it in. I am starting to hate this incremental development with Agony series going 1K up with each series. Cut the crap GOI and DRDO go all out and test Surya or whatever series with MIRV's or MaRV's capable of hitting US mainland, then the khujli in west will be enjoyable

Indranil · Post by **Indranil** » 02 Jan 2015 09:37

Looks like the first usage of the Liquid Fueled RamJet (LFRJ) engine may be upgraded Akash missile itself. Some more features are now available from a tender:

dia:350 mm
Weight:320 kg
thrust at 2.4M: 6000kgf

Yagnasri · Post by **Yagnasri** » 02 Jan 2015 09:46

Sir, One mango question. Liquid fuel ones are needed to be fueled just before use. It it possible for Akash ??? I mean a instantanious/quick reaction is needed in case of Akash. Am I wrong or missed something?

Indranil · Post by **Indranil** » 02 Jan 2015 09:57

Very good question. I don't know the answer to that. But the similarity in the appearance is hard to miss. Same diameter, same length, 4 intakes. Look here.

Prem Kumar · Post by **Prem Kumar** » 02 Jan 2015 10:27

Not all liquid fueled missiles need to be fueled before launch. Example: Brahmos with kerosene fuel is a wooden round. Aviation kerosene is stable

KiranM · Post by **KiranM** » 02 Jan 2015 14:26

Also IIRC there was supposed to be an ARM version based on Akash. Considering that the SAM system has matured, may be an LFRJ (for increased range) based ARM is in the works now. For ARM mission, missile can be fueled just prior to take off.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 02 Jan 2015 16:04

Said so before,Has there been any thought about a naval variant of Akash? Most nations develop a multi-role SAM,why haven't we attempted it thus far,other than the much lamented Trishul?

Nikhil T · Post by **Nikhil T** » 02 Jan 2015 16:21

Tidbit from Sheela Bhatt's article on What Modi Will Do in 2015:

In the last seven months, steps have been taken successfully to increase the Indian Army's ammunition reserves. The world's second-largest standing army's tanks and air defence units and soldiers had reserves of around 20 days of ammunition to fight a full-scale war.

Now, a senior official says, the capacity is steadily increasing and will be much higher in less than a year. The labour problems of local ordnance factories have been resolved.

A government source says that companies like L&T which are eying the $18 billion (about Rs 111,600 crore/Rs 1.116 trillion) plus contracts have been asked to accept less lucrative assisgnments from the defence sector.

One senior BJP leader told Rediff.com, "We told them if you want to help India make submarines (which have huge profit margins) then also make some tanks (which have a lower margin) too."

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 02 Jan 2015 16:36

Wonderful news.

Gyan · Post by **Gyan** » 02 Jan 2015 18:25

indranilroy wrote:Looks like the first usage of the Liquid Fueled RamJet (LFRJ) engine may be upgraded Akash missile itself. Some more features are now available from a tender:

dia:350 mm
Weight:320 kg
thrust at 2.4M: 6000kgf

My guess is that this is the Ramjet motor of our ARM which may be inspired from Kh-31 with range of 100-250km.. The long range LFRJ may be different missile in bigger size and longer range category of 600-1000km category.

Indranil · Post by **Indranil** » 02 Jan 2015 20:47

All I know is that they had founf 2 fuels which were better than Jet A-1 fuel.

Polycyclic alkanes based high density hydrocarbon fuels preparation and evaluation for LFRJ application

Two polycyclic alkane based high density thermally stable hydrocarbon fuels DPCR-2 and DPCR-3 were prepared from processed special petroleum fraction DPCR-1 for LFRJ application. These fuels were subjected to detailed physico-chemical characterization and found to have improved density (0.844 to 0.846 g cm−3 @ 20 °C), low aromatic content (<5%), low sulphur content and high flash point (>62 °C). These newly developed fuels exhibit better properties than aviation turbine fuel (ATF/Jet A-1). The theoretical as well as experimental ramjet performance such as characteristic velocity and chamber pressure for both the fuels are higher than ordinary Jet-A1 and comparable with similar high density T-6 fuel. These fuels show superior storage characteristics in an elastomeric fuel system such as acrylonitrile butadiene rubber used in missile applications. DPCR-2 and DPCR-3 developed for LFRJ application are found to be very promising in terms of performance, density, availability and cost effectiveness in comparison with Jet A-1 fuel which is presently being used in a number of air breathing propulsion systems.

Probably, the first shot is to make Akash smokeless, with better fuel control and with longer range. The long range cruise missiles will follow.

member_28932 · Post by **member_28932** » 03 Jan 2015 16:05

Gyan wrote: Note Akash MK-2 will have a range of 45-60km . Also a Ramket missile has 150-200% more effective range compared to brouchure range of conventional missiles due to "longer" burning motor and "faster average speed" to reach the target.

Akash Mk2 Shall have 10 to 12 Km Higher range i.e 40 to 42 KM. However it will have a large profile and address almost all type of aerial threats. Putting a seeker is also under consideration.

http://idrw.org/?p=47668#more-47668

Gyan · Post by **Gyan** » 03 Jan 2015 18:12

My guess is still that Akash MK-2 will have a range of 45-60km . Also a Ramjet missile has 150-200% more effective range compared to brouchure range of conventional missiles, That is to say if importedsolid fueled missiles are touting a range of 50-70km then their actual effective range viz a viz Akash would be around 20-40km. This is due to the fact that Akash Missile has (i) "longer" burning motors (35secs compared to 5-15 secs); (ii) "faster average speed" (Mach 2+ compared to Mach 1.5+) to reach the target; and (iii) ability to maintain speed & end game maneuveribilty against evading targets. If Akash Mk-2 gets a active seeker then there will be massive increase in range. Read about Sea Dart Missile of UK. DRDO is understating Akash Mk-2 range in order to avoid running to Israeli LRSAM-MRSAM lobby which may kill it.

member_28932 · Post by **member_28932** » 05 Jan 2015 08:17

Gyan wrote:My guess is still that Akash MK-2 will have a range of 45-60km . Also a Ramjet missile has 150-200% more effective range compared to brouchure range of conventional missiles, That is to say if importedsolid fueled missiles are touting a range of 50-70km then their actual effective range viz a viz Akash would be around 20-40km. This is due to the fact that Akash Missile has (i) "longer" burning motors (35secs compared to 5-15 secs); (ii) "faster average speed" (Mach 2+ compared to Mach 1.5+) to reach the target; and (iii) ability to maintain speed & end game maneuveribilty against evading targets. If Akash Mk-2 gets a active seeker then there will be massive increase in range. Read about Sea Dart Missile of UK. DRDO is understating Akash Mk-2 range in order to avoid running to Israeli LRSAM-MRSAM lobby which may kill it.

+1
Actually Akash MK 2 was to be tested in 2013. This is 2015 and still avinash chander says that putting A seeker is under consideration. Thi is very sad. Come out with MK2 with a longer range, subsequently seeker may be incorporated. Akash is a highly underexploited Missile and we should make all efforts to exploit its full potential. This types of delay in spite of having basic version on hand is unacceptable. MOD should screw DRDO to deliver the projects in time. Imagine a situation in which we may have a Akash with seeker on our hand with 70 to 80 KMs of range. How much mussels would it add to our Air defense. Our enemy shall have a lot more concern if we would have this missile deployed at our border.

Cybaru · Post by **Cybaru** » 05 Jan 2015 08:27

Vipul Dave wrote: +1
This types of delay in spite of having basic version on hand is unacceptable. MOD should screw DRDO to deliver the projects in time. Imagine a situation in which we may have a Akash with seeker on our hand with 70 to 80 KMs of range.

WTF? It's not like writing an sql query. All this takes time and I am sure DRDO isn't sitting hand on hand. They are constantly testing and you will hear about it when it's ready. That seems to be the way they are operating from all their recent announcements.

member_28932 · Post by **member_28932** » 05 Jan 2015 08:43

Cybaru wrote:
Vipul Dave wrote: +1
This types of delay in spite of having basic version on hand is unacceptable. MOD should screw DRDO to deliver the projects in time. Imagine a situation in which we may have a Akash with seeker on our hand with 70 to 80 KMs of range.
WTF? It's not like writing an sql query. All this takes time and I am sure DRDO isn't sitting hand on hand. They are constantly testing and you will hear about it when it's ready. That seems to be the way they are operating from all their recent announcements.

When I wrote this, I had the claim of DRDO to fly it in 2013 was in mind. The time line of 2013 is not mine but it was a claim of DRDO itself. They had claimed that new RADAR is almost ready and what they need is to boost the range of Akash missile. 2 years should be sufficient for that. It is more than 4 years now. In 2014 end, they still say that putting a seeker is under consideration.

Gyan · Post by **Gyan** » 05 Jan 2015 09:05

LRSAM-MRSAM- SPYDER missile lobby is actively working against Akash & trying to prevent sanction of Akash MK-2 development.

member_22539 · Post by **member_22539** » 05 Jan 2015 12:02

Vipul Dave wrote:When I wrote this, I had the claim of DRDO to fly it in 2013 was in mind. The time line of 2013 is not mine but it was a claim of DRDO itself. They had claimed that new RADAR is almost ready and what they need is to boost the range of Akash missile. 2 years should be sufficient for that. It is more than 4 years now. In 2014 end, they still say that putting a seeker is under consideration.

A case of selective outrage over missed deadlines. These same detractors of the DRDO will be happy excusing the delays in the foreign gold plated programs like Barak 8, FGFA, etc. But god forbid DRDO, which has finance and infrastructure constraints, were to have a delay, its time to screw them. Hypocrisy much?

member_28932 · Post by **member_28932** » 05 Jan 2015 12:13

Arun Menon wrote:
Vipul Dave wrote:When I wrote this, I had the claim of DRDO to fly it in 2013 was in mind. The time line of 2013 is not mine but it was a claim of DRDO itself. They had claimed that new RADAR is almost ready and what they need is to boost the range of Akash missile. 2 years should be sufficient for that. It is more than 4 years now. In 2014 end, they still say that putting a seeker is under consideration.
A case of selective outrage over missed deadlines. These same detractors of the DRDO will be happy excusing the delays in the foreign gold plated programs like Barak 8, FGFA, etc. But god forbid DRDO, which has finance and infrastructure constraints, were to have a delay, its time to screw them. Hypocrisy much?

No you are absolutely wrong. I wrote that post because I am concern with delay in Akash program and I do not want any foreign stuff to fill the Gap of that 40 to 60 KM range slot.

Do we not raise concern even after taking double time than promised; still they have not decided how the missile will be. They promised MK2 by 2013. In the end of 2014, they are saying that they have yet to decide whether seeker shall be fitted or not?

You can remain an admirer of DRDO but I shall point a finger where it goes wrong and praise the achievement simultaneously.

Cybaru · Post by **Cybaru** » 05 Jan 2015 12:53

Vipul Dave wrote: You can remain an admirer of DRDO but I shall point out the finger where it goes wrong and praise the achievement simultaneously.

That's right! DRDO is waiting for Vipul Dave audit committee to come and land a wet kiss on its forehead! Yes, please do oblige them.

member_28932 · Post by **member_28932** » 05 Jan 2015 13:49

Cybaru wrote:
Vipul Dave wrote: You can remain an admirer of DRDO but I shall point out the finger where it goes wrong and praise the achievement simultaneously.
That's right! DRDO is waiting for Vipul Dave audit committee to come and land a wet kiss on its forehead! Yes, please do oblige them.

It seems that you are in no mood to take any crtisim in right spirit.

You seem more like a spokes person of DRDO rathar than a Poster on blog.

member_22539 · Post by **member_22539** » 05 Jan 2015 14:27

Vipul Dave wrote:It seems that you are in no mood to take any crtisim in right spirit.

You seem more like a spokes person of DRDO rathar than a Poster on blog.

The fact that you consider calling someone "a spokesperson of DRDO" a recrimination in itself speaks volumes.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 05 Jan 2015 15:49

OK guys. Enough of this and back to subject please.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 05 Jan 2015 17:08

Gyan you've explained a lot in your post,why no naval variant of Akash has been planned,unlike many other nations where naval variants of SAMs proliferate aboard their ships. The DM must take a long hard look at this.The LR-SAM project with the Israelis never faced any competition and is 4 years behind schedule,ostensibly according to one report because DRDO failed to deliver the propellant/rocket motor. With the success of Akash,a longer ranged version must be developed.

Thakur_B · Post by **Thakur_B** » 05 Jan 2015 19:18

Vipul Dave wrote:

When I wrote this, I had the claim of DRDO to fly it in 2013 was in mind. The time line of 2013 is not mine but it was a claim of DRDO itself. They had claimed that new RADAR is almost ready and what they need is to boost the range of Akash missile. 2 years should be sufficient for that. It is more than 4 years now. In 2014 end, they still say that putting a seeker is under consideration.

I talked to some people in the know. Some hard choices had to be made on prioritisation of projects based on funds sanctioned by the government (which barely provided two thirds of what was needed). Indian missile programs are a testimony to frugal development and it is one area of technology where we have caught up with advanced nations in a big way. The way things are headed, DRDO's missile catalogue will rival MBDA in the coming years with a product in every category. The massive orders by the armed forces and expressing confidence in projects at design stage (QRSAM for example) over imports are a proof if one needed any. Then there's changing requirements as well. Earlier the indications were for upgraded range only, then semi active seeker and if now rumours are to be believed, an active seeker.

Indranil · Post by **Indranil** » 05 Jan 2015 20:36

Thakur sahab,

I don't know anything about the Indian QRSAM (other than Maitri). Please educate.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 05 Jan 2015 21:11

Vipul Dave wrote:
Gyan wrote:My guess is still that Akash MK-2 will have a range of 45-60km . Also a Ramjet missile has 150-200% more effective range compared to brouchure range of conventional missiles, That is to say if importedsolid fueled missiles are touting a range of 50-70km then their actual effective range viz a viz Akash would be around 20-40km. This is due to the fact that Akash Missile has (i) "longer" burning motors (35secs compared to 5-15 secs); (ii) "faster average speed" (Mach 2+ compared to Mach 1.5+) to reach the target; and (iii) ability to maintain speed & end game maneuveribilty against evading targets. If Akash Mk-2 gets a active seeker then there will be massive increase in range. Read about Sea Dart Missile of UK. DRDO is understating Akash Mk-2 range in order to avoid running to Israeli LRSAM-MRSAM lobby which may kill it.
+1
Actually Akash MK 2 was to be tested in 2013. This is 2015 and still avinash chander says that putting A seeker is under consideration. Thi is very sad. Come out with MK2 with a longer range, subsequently seeker may be incorporated. Akash is a highly underexploited Missile and we should make all efforts to exploit its full potential. This types of delay in spite of having basic version on hand is unacceptable. MOD should screw DRDO to deliver the projects in time. Imagine a situation in which we may have a Akash with seeker on our hand with 70 to 80 KMs of range. How much mussels would it add to our Air defense. Our enemy shall have a lot more concern if we would have this missile deployed at our border.

I think you seriously dont understand the quantum of effort DRDO is engaged in, with limited resources (barely 50-60% of teh funds required, no enhancement in scientific staff numbers over the past decade). Currently, they have:

BMD Program
PGMS- glide bomb/s, LGBs, CLGMs
Agni program
K-series program
Nirbhay & variants
Akash series production
Pinaka-Mk2 dev and production
Prahar dev
ARM dev
LFRJ for CMs
HSDTV
Strat ALM
LRSAM
QRSAM

These are merely the missile programs I can remember off the top of my head. Fairly certain I must have missed a bunch.

Apart from this DRDO is engaged in national programs to develop seekers, onboard SOC for nav/multiple functions, actuators, power sources, warheads, INS/gyros of various types.

Then there are dime a dozen radar programs each with multiple subsystems, to support above missile programs.

And in this milieu, when the priority is to get LRSAM into production asap, do you think Akash Mk-2 is the #1 priority?

You say MOD should "screw DRDO" - well no worries on that score, because the MOD has been busy screwing everyone during the UPA.

Perhaps if you applied some rational thought, the right answer should be that MOD should support the DRDO and also have the services closely work with the latter to determine the Akash Mk2 specs and also commit to a firm indent for a good quantity before FSED proceeds.

Thakur_B · Post by **Thakur_B** » 06 Jan 2015 07:03

indranilroy wrote:Thakur sahab,

I don't know anything about the Indian QRSAM (other than Maitri). Please educate.

Saurav Jha gave hints to its existence a few months back.

However with the induction of the Akash medium range surface to air missile (MRSAM) system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) the long awaited modernization of this arm has now kicked off. Alongside the Akash, Army AD is also inducting a new generation Russian very short range SAM (SR-SAM). These two inductions have meant that the IA now can wait for an indigenous offering in the quick reaction SAM (QRSAM) segment which has begun development in DRDL rather than procure that from overseas.

The Akash and the Sosna procurements have meant that the IA now has the space to consider the the indigenous QRSAM being developed by DRDO's Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) to replace the 50 plus OSA-AK SAM units it has in the AD core. In 2012, the defence acquisition council had given the IA the go ahead to issue request for proposals to foreign vendors who had responded to its RFI for a QRSAM with a range of not less than 15 km, altitude capability of not less than 6 kms, reaction time of 6 seconds or less, guidance package consisting of an onboard seeker and the ability to engage targets flying at 0-500 m/s as well as hovering helicopters. Up to eight regiments of this QRSAM were sought to be procured. For this particular tender, DRDO was expected to bid with the Maitri missile that was slated to co-develop with MBDA. It is believed that the Israelis would have offered the Spyder SR and the Russians the TOR-M2KM mounted on a Tata vehicle.

However the Maitri project is now as good as dead because both the IA and the Indian Air force feel that its specifications would lie more or less within the capabilities of the Akash Mk-I itself and the IA's fire on move requirements are being met by the Sosna-R. So at the moment an indigenous QRSAM option is being pursued in earnest with elements of this system already starting to coming together in the form of both new radar as well as IIR seekers under development at DRDO's Research Centre Imarat (RCI) Laboratory and a stabilized electro-optical sight (SEOS) developed by DRDO's Instruments Research and Development Establishment (IRDE). IRDE's SEOS has two-axis stabilisation and integrated automatic video tracker facility. Three electro-optical sensors-3rd generation 3-5 μm (640 x 512 FPA) thermal Imager (TI) with optical zoom, colour day TV with optical zoom camera and eye-safe laser range finder (ELRF). The day TV camera and TI are having a narrow field of view (NFOV) of 0.8° x 0.6° and wide field of view (WFOV) of 5° x 4° with additional 2 X electronic zoom in TI. These sensors provide a recognition range of 7 km for a NATO type of target. ELRF provides range of the target from 200 m to 9995 m with an accuracy of ± 5 m. The SEOS will complement the Ka-band radar that will guide the QRSAM in dense ECM environments.

The SEOS enables steering of line of sight with an azimuth angular freedom which enables the system operator to carry out independent surveillance over a wide area with target acquisition and tracking from a moving or static vehicle, with wide/narrow field of view in day and night. The sight is integrated with a robust automatic video tracker, to track the aerial and ground targets with the tracking accuracy of ±3 pixels and maximum tracking rate of 0.1 mil/sec to 70 mil/sec.

http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/sauravjha/2 ... tures.html

The SEOS that has been developed is adaptable for a lot of applications, from armoured vehicles to aerostats like Chakshu, and SAM systems.

srai wrote:

hecky wrote:Breakthrough in indigenous E/O sensor tech

A heartening new indigenous development could take care of India's over-dependence on foreign suppliers for critical electro-optical sensors for surface payloads. The DRDO's Instruments Research and Development Establishment (IRDE) in Dehradun has developed a Stabilised Electro Optical Sight (SEOS) with two-axis stabilisation and an integrated automatic video tracker facility. The indigenous SEOS has three electro-optical sensors, 3rd generation 3-5 µm (640 x 512 FPA) thermal imager (TI) with optical zoom, colour day TV with optical zoom camera and eye-safe laser range finder (ELRF). The day TV camera and TI sport a narrow field of view (NFOV) of 0.8° x 0.6° and wide field of view (WFOV) of 5° x 4° with additional 2 X electronic zoom in TI. These sensors provide a recognition range of 7 km for a NATO type of target. ELRF provides range of the target from 200 m to 9995 m with an accuracy of ± 5 m. According to DRDO, "The modular approach of this sight results into a quick customisation for different applications namely fire control solution for armoured fighting vehicles, surveillance from high speed boats and low altitude aerostat, and tracking system for a QR-SAM." The DRDO will be looking to integrate the new sight onto a slew of upcoming products.

SEOS has three electro-optical sensors:

1. Thermal imager (TI) -
3rd generation 3-5 µm (640 x 512 FPA)

Narrow field of view (NFOV) - 0.8° x 0.6°

Wide field of view (WFOV) - 5° x 4°

2 X electronic zoom

7 km for a NATO type of target
2. Colour day TV camera -
Narrow field of view (NFOV) - 0.8° x 0.6°

Wide field of view (WFOV) - 5° x 4°

7 km for a NATO type of target
3. Eye-Safe laser range finder (ELRF)

Range of the target - 200 m to 9995 m (± 5 m)
-----------------------------------------------------------------

This is the picture given in the article. Isn't this the improved/modified (by IRDE) COAPS from Elbit Systems for Arjun Mk II manufactured by an Indian firm VEM Technologies ?
DRDO Newsletter (September 2014) had reported on "IRDE develops Stabilised Electro Optic Sight".

member_28932 · Post by **member_28932** » 06 Jan 2015 09:27

Karan M wrote: I think you seriously dont understand the quantum of effort DRDO is engaged in, with limited resources (barely 50-60% of teh funds required, no enhancement in scientific staff numbers over the past decade). Currently, they have:

BMD Program
PGMS- glide bomb/s, LGBs, CLGMs
Agni program
K-series program
Nirbhay & variants
Akash series production
Pinaka-Mk2 dev and production
Prahar dev
ARM dev
LFRJ for CMs
HSDTV
Strat ALM
LRSAM
QRSAM

These are merely the missile programs I can remember off the top of my head. Fairly certain I must have missed a bunch.

Apart from this DRDO is engaged in national programs to develop seekers, onboard SOC for nav/multiple functions, actuators, power sources, warheads, INS/gyros of various types.

Then there are dime a dozen radar programs each with multiple subsystems, to support above missile programs.

And in this milieu, when the priority is to get LRSAM into production asap, do you think Akash Mk-2 is the #1 priority?

You say MOD should "screw DRDO" - well no worries on that score, because the MOD has been busy screwing everyone during the UPA.

Perhaps if you applied some rational thought, the right answer should be that MOD should support the DRDO and also have the services closely work with the latter to determine the Akash Mk2 specs and also commit to a firm indent for a good quantity before FSED proceeds.

So far as I know, No fund was sought for Akash MK2 since MK1 had a huge order and sufficient fund was available for development of MK2.

I also Loud DRDO's achievements in Missile technology but every time missing dead line invariably for multiple time is not good. These dead lines were not imposed on them by anybody else but decided by temselves.

I think Prahar is already developped.

Kindly enlight us more about QRSAM if possible. Not much information is available in open source except that it is under development.