 "Indian Army's NAG Missile System during the Republic Day parade, at the Kartavya Path in New Delhi. File image/PTI")
India on Sunday unveiled the battle surveillance system ‘Sanjay’ and the tactical missile ‘Pralay’ at the 76th Republic Day Parade.
A number of other defence technologies made under the aegis of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ scheme were also displayed.
These included the Nag missile system, the Pinaka weapon system, Agnibaan Multiple Barrel Rocket Launcher, Akash weapon system, Bajrang light specialist vehicle, and the T-90 Bhishma Main Battle Tank.
But what do we know about these weapons?
Let’s take a closer look
‘Sanjay’ battlefield surveillance system
As per New Indian Express, ‘Sanjay’ is an automated battlefield surveillance system (BSS).
The system has been indigenously and jointly developed by the Indian Army and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) at a cost of Rs 2,402 crore.
Sanjay combines the inputs from all ground and aerial battlefield sensors, checks whether they are accurate and combines them to give a picture of the battlefield.
It does so over a secured army data network and satellite communication network.
It is equipped with state-of-the-art sensors and cutting-edge analytics.
It will keep an eye on the vast land borders, prevent intrusions, assess situations with unparalleled accuracy and prove to be a force multiplier in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
This will allow commanders to operate in both conventional and sub-conventional operations in a network centric environment.
Its induction will be an extraordinary leap towards data and network centricity in the Indian Army.
As an officer told the newspaper, “As the entire feed, real-time, will come to one place before the commanders, thus helping them in analysing and deciding and reacting quickly against the enemy.”
The system will be inducted in all the army’s operational brigades, divisions and corps between March and October.
The outlet quoted Singh as saying that ‘Sanjay’ will enhance battlefield transparency and “transform the future battlefield through a centralised web application which will provide inputs to command and army Headquarters, and the Indian Army decision support system.”
Pralay missile
Pralay, a surface-to-surface tactical missile, will also be showcased during the parade.
As per Business Standard, Pralay is a state-of-the-art missile equipped with advanced technologies.
It was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
According to The Times of India, Pralay has a range of 400 kilometers.
It is India’s first ballistic missile meant for conventional strikes, as per The Hindu.
Capable of carrying a payload of 500 to 1,000 kilos, Pralay will be used by both the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force.
Slated to be deployed on the Line of Control (LoC) as well as the Line of Actual Control (LAC), it will allow the Indian Armed Forces to conduct cross-border strikes.
According to The Tribune, Pralay is also known as a “quasi-ballistic” missile.
This is because it launches vertically and has a low trajectory.
However, it also can change course in the final stages of its flight – like a cruise missile.
As per Eurasian Times, Pralay has a solid-fuel rocket motor.
Its maneuverable reentry vehicle (MaRV) lets it undertake mid-air maneuvers and avoid being discovered and intercepted by anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems.
It is intended to be a quick-reaction missile.
Pralay can be launched in 10 minutes from a canister on a land mobile launcher.
It can go from command to launch in 60 seconds.
The project was given the go-ahead in 2015.
Pralay in its terminal phase uses a millimeter-wave (MMW) seeker for precision targeting.
Its speed depends on the trajectory.
It uses inertial navigation for mid-flight guidance and radar imaging for terminal homing.
It thus allows for precision strikes with a Circular Error Probability (CEP) of around 10 meters.
Its jet vane system for thrust vector control allows it to perform evasive maneuvers in the terminal phase.
Like Russia’s Iskander-M missile, Pralay may also release decoys to confound air defence systems.
Defence analyst Vijainder K Thakur told Eurasian Times, “The Pralay missile is an analog of Russia’s Iskander-M quasi-ballistic missile, which has acquired a formidable reputation during Russia’s Special Military Operation in Ukraine.”
As per The Tribune, it melds technology from two major weapons systems – the Prithvi Defence Vehicle (PDV) and the Prahar tactical missile.
As per The Hindu, Pralay is a twin launcher system mounted on an Ashok Leyland 12x12 high-mobility vehicle.
As per The Tribune, the budget to develop the Pralay was Rs 332.88 crore.
The project was executed by the Research Centre Imarat (RCI) in Hyderabad.
The RCI’s focus is on developing missile systems, guided weapons and advanced avionics.
The first tests were conducted on December 22 and 23, 2021. A third test was carried out on November 7, 2023.
DRDO called the tests ‘successful’ and said the system had ‘achieving all the required mission objectives.’
The Ministry of Defence in 2022 cleared the procurement of 120 Pralay missiles following a request from the Indian Army.
The defence ministry in April 2023 proposed acquiring another 250 Pralay missiles for the Indian Air Force at a cost of Rs 7,500 crore.
Pralay, along with missiles such as Nirbhay, Prahar and Pinaka, is expected to be part of India’s planned Integrated Rocket Force (IRF).
“The rocket force that is being planned will eventually have all these conventional missiles brought under one umbrella. There are talks for a rocket force that is being looked as a tri-service concept,” an official in the know told The Hindu.
Nag Missile System
The Nag Missile System (Namis) was also highlighted on Republic Day.
This Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) features a crewless turret armed with six Nag missiles, a Remote-Controlled Machine Gun, and a Smoke Grenade Launcher System.
The Nag missile is capable of destroying enemy tanks up to five kilometres away.
Developed by the Defence Research and Development Laboratory, Hyderabad, in collaboration with leading Indian defence firms, the Namis functions in all weather and lighting conditions.
It has a range between 500 metres to 10 kilometres – depending on the variant.
According to APB News, the Namis uses an imaging infrared (IIR) seeker which locks onto targets before launch.
This results in a high rate of accuracy of over 90 per cent.
As per Drishti IAS, Namis comes under ‘fire and forget’ category system.
In top attack mode, the missile rises sharply after launch and travels at a certain altitude.
Then, once it reaches the target, it plunges down.
In direct attack mode, the missile hits the target directly – all the while travelling at a lower altitude.
It is built to hit Main Battle Tanks (MBT) with composite and reactive armour.
It can be launched from land and air-based platforms.
The Nag MK2, the third-generation AGTM, was successfully tested at the Pokhran Field Range in January.
During the three field trials, the Nag MK 2 destroyed all the targets with precision.
The Nag Missile Carrier version-2 was also successfully test-fired.
The Nag MK2 is ready for induction into the Indian Army.
Pinaka weapon system
The Pinaka weapon system was named after the bow of Hindu god Shiva.
It was developed by the Pune-based Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) – an arm of the DRDO.
As per ABP News, the Pinaka is a multi-barrel rocket launcher (MBRL).
It can fire a dozen rockets in just 44 seconds.
Its variants can hit targets at a distance of 40 kilometres to 75 kilometres.
DRDO says it is planning to increase the range to over 120 kilometres.
Agnibaan
As per DD News, the BM-21 Agnibaan is a 122mm Multiple Barrel Rocket Launcher.
Known for its awesome firepower, the Agnibaan played a crucial role during the 1999 Kargil War.
The Agnibaan can fire 40 rockets in 20 seconds and has a range of up to 40 kilometers.
Initially mounted on the Ural-3750 truck platform, the system has been given significant upgrades.
It is now on the indigenously developed Ashok Leyland Super Stallion platform.
Akash weapon system
As per The Statesman, Akash is India’s first indigenously developed air defence system.
It can fire short-range surface-to-air missiles to take down aerial threats.
The Akash weapons system has a surveillance range of up to 150 kilometres.
It can hit target at a range of 25 kilometres.
The Akash Weapon System has been inducted into both the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army.
T-90 Bhishma
As per ABP News, the T-90 Bhishma is a main battle tank (MBT).
Deployed by the Indian Army since 2003, the T-90 Bhishma is a third-generation MBT.
Based on the Russian T-90S, it has been adapted to meet the needs of the Indian military.
The T-90 Bhishma comprises a 125 mm smoothbore gun capable of firing various munitions, including armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds and guided anti-tank missiles.
It can fire up to 800 shells per minute.
BrahMos Missile
The BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile that is a staple of Republic Day parades.
As per ABP News, it has been jointly developed by the DRDO Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia.
The Brahmos can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, and land platforms.
It can go as fast as Mach 3.5 and has a range of up to 500 kilometres.
There are reports that Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto is interested in buying the Brahmos missile.
Short Span Bridging System 10m
The Short Span Bridging System (SSBS)-10 m is designed and developed by DRDO.
The DRDO’s Research & Development Establishment, Pune, developed the SSBS in collaboration with L&T.
It plays a crucial role of bridging the gaps up to 9.5 metres as a single span providing a 4 metre wide, fully decked roadway.
This allows faster movement of the troops.
The Project Short Span Bridging System involved the development of two prototypes of 5 metres SSBS on Tatra 6x6 chassis and another two prototypes of 10 m SSBS on Tatra 8x8 re-engineered chassis.
It is compatible with Sarvatra Bridging System (75 metres), where the last span requires covering gaps less than 9.5 metres.
BMP-2 Sarath, Bajrang
Sarath is an infantry carrying vehicle, while the Bajrang is a light specialist vehicle.
Asked what factors were kept in mind while lending names to such platforms such as ‘Agnibaan’ and ‘Bajrang’, the COS, Delhi Area said, “Specialised vehicles made under ‘Atmanirbhat Bharat’ vision earlier reflected their capabilities, such as all-terrain vehicles, specialised mobility vehicle. We have given them names, they were not christened earlier. When they were being named, our cultural heritage was also acknowledged through the names.”
With inputs from agencies