India to start work on a reusable hypersonic missile: Pillai
16 Feb 2007
Visakhapatnam: India is now all set to start work on a hypersonic reusable missile, which will have the ability to cruise to a target at Mach 4 speeds, deliver its warhead and return to base. This fact was revealed by Dr. A. Sivathanu Pillai, CEO & MD, BrahMos Aerospace.
"We are studying the project and the missile system, when developed, could cruise to the enemy's target at a maximum speed of Mach 4," said Pillai. He made this interesting revelation while speaking on the "Indian Aerospace Programme - present and future" before the students of the Andhra University College of Engineering.
Typically, the appellation hypersonic is given to aircraft with the ability to fly at speeds in excess of 3,000 mph.
Pillai has largely been identified with the successful development of the BrahMos programme, which is a supersonic cruise missile, traveling at speeds of 2.8-3 Mach. A unique product, the BrahMos has already been inducted for operational service by the Indian Navy and Army. Work is in progress to develop an air-launched version for the Indian Air Force.
Prithvi and Nag
Speaking about the advances made in rocket and missile systems by Indian space and military scientists, Pillai made another interesting revelation. The Prithvi missile, he said, was the first in the world with a maneuverable trajectory. This allows the Prithvi to evade all defensive mechanisms deployed by the enemy and strike its target precisely.
The anti-tank Nag missile, Pillai said, was a "fire and forget" weapon, which freed the operator from the task of continuously guiding the missile to its target. Pillai also said that with the Nag the operator could be rest assured that the target would be destroyed.
Referring to India's mission to the moon, Pillai said that things were moving in the right direction.
