Tsirkon Hypersonic Missile
Context:
Recently, Russia has fired its Tsirkon Hypersonic Missile from a warship in the north of the country.
- Earlier, it was reported that China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic glide vehicle that circled the globe before speeding towards its target.
About Tsirkon Hypersonic Missile:
- The 3M22 Zircon also spelled as 3M22 Tsirkon is a scramjet powered maneuvering anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile currently in testing by Russia
- The Zircon missile is capable of flying 9 times the speed of sound and hit targets successfully upto a range of 1,000 kms (620 miles).
- The Tsirkon Cruise Missile will join Avangard glide vehicles and the air-launched Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles in Russia’s hypersonic arsenal.
- The missile can develop a speed of Mach 9 and fly at an altitude of 30-40 km where the range and speed increase as air resistance is smaller.
- Experts estimate the payload at 300-400 kg and the missile length at 8-10 meters.
- Tsirkon is to be fired from universal vertical launchers 3S-14 on warships and submarines and from Bastion mobile coastal missile launchers.
Hypersonic Technology:
- Speed: 5 or more times the Mach or speed of sound.
- Mach Number: It describes an aircraft’s speed compared with the speed of sound in air, with Mach 1 equating to the speed of sound i.e. 343 metre per second.
- Technology Used: Most hypersonic vehicles primarily use the scramjet technology, which is a type of Air Breathing propulsion System.
- This is extremely complex technology, which also needs to be able to handle high temperatures, making the hypersonic systems extremely costly.
- Types:
- Hypersonic cruise missiles: These are the ones that use rocket or jet propellant through their flight and are regarded as being just faster versions of existing cruise missiles.
- Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (HGV): These missiles first go up into the atmosphere on a conventional rocket before being launched towards their target.
Development of Hypersonic Technology in India:
- India, too, is working on hypersonic technologies.
- As far as space assets are concerned, India has already proved its capabilities through the test of ASAT under Mission Shakti.
- Hypersonic technology has been developed and tested by both DRDO (Defence research and Development Organisation) and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation).
- Recently, DRDO has successfully flight-tested the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV), with a capability to travel at 6 times the speed of sound.
- Also, a Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test facility of the DRDO was inaugurated in Hyderabad. It is a pressure vacuum-driven, enclosed free jet facility that simulates Mach 5 to 12.
Differences between Ballistic Missile and Cruise Missile
| Ballistic Missile | Cruise Missile |
| It is propelled only for a brief duration after the launch. | Self-propelled till the end of its flight. |
| Similar to a rocket engine. | Similar to a jet engine. |
| Long-range missiles leave the earth’s atmosphere and reenter it. | The flight path is within the earth’s atmosphere. |
| Low precision as it is unguided for most of its path and its trajectory depends on gravity, air resistance and Coriolis Force. | Hits targets with high precision as it is constantly propelled. |
| Can have a very long range (300 km to 12,000 km) as there is no fuel requirement after its initial trajectory. | The range is small (below 500 km) as it needs to be constantly propelled to hit the target with high precision. |
| Heavy payload carrying capacity. | Payload capacity is limited. |
| Can carry multiple payloads (Multiple Independently targetable Re-entry Vehicle) | Usually carries a single payload. |
| Developed primarily to carry nuclear warheads. | Developed primarily to carry conventional warheads. |
| E.g. Prithvi I, Prithvi II, Agni I, Agni II and Dhanush missiles. | E.g. BrahMos missiles |
India’s Missile Systems
| Missile | Type | Range | |
| Astra | air-to-air | 80 km | |
| Trishul | surface-to-air | 9 km | |
| Akash | 30 km | ||
| Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) | 2000 km | ||
| Nag | surface-to-surface Anti-tank missile | 4 km | |
| Prahaar | surface-to-surface | SRBM | 150 km |
| BrahMos | land, naval, air | Supersonic Cruise Missile | 300 km |
| Nirbhay | land, naval, air | Subsonic Cruise Missile | 1000 km |
| K-15 Sagarika | underwater-to-surface | SLBM | 700 km |
| Dhanush | sea-to-sea/surface | SRBM | 350 km |
| Shaurya | surface-to-surface | SLBM | 1900 |
SLBM: Sub-marine launched ballistic missile
| Missile | Features |
| Astra | Astra is a beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile (AAM).In terms of size and weight, the Astra is the smallest missile developed by the DRDO.It was envisaged to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft at supersonic speeds. |
| Trishul | Used as anti-sea skimmer (to fly low to avoid radar) from ships against low-flying attacks. |
| Akash | It has the capability to “neutralize aerial targets like fighter jets, cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles” as well as ballistic missiles. |
| PAD | Anti-ballistic missile developed to intercept incoming ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere (exo-atmospheric). |
| Nag | 3rd generation anti-tank ‘fire and forget’ guided missile (lock-on before launch system) where the target is identified and designated before the weapon is launched. |
| Prahaar | High manoeuvrability.Primarily a battlefield support system for the Army. |
| BrahMos | It is a supersonic cruise missile developed as a joint venture between Indian and Russia.It is the fastest supersonic cruise missile in the world.It is the world’s fastest anti-ship cruise missile in operation. |
| Nirbhay | Subsonic missile which is ancillary (providing necessary support) to the BrahMos range. |
| K-15 Sagarika | It forms the crucial third leg of India’s nuclear deterrent vis-à-vis its submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) capability.It was subsequently integrated with India’s nuclear-powered Arihant class submarine. |
| Dhanush | It is capable of carrying nuclear warheads.It carries forward the legacy of the K-15 Sagarika. |
| Shaurya | Surface-to-surface ballistic missile (SSM) variant of the K-15 Sagarika.The nuclear capability of the missile enhances India’s second-strike capability.It reduces the dependence on the K-15 which was built with Russian assistance. |
Prithvi Missiles
All the Prithvi variants are surface-to-surface SRBMs.
| Name | Version | Range | Payload in kg |
| Prithvi I | Army version | 150 km | 1000 |
| Prithvi II | Air force version | 350 km | 500 |
| Prithvi III | Naval version | 600 km | 1000 |
Agni Missiles
| Name | Type | Range | Payload in kg |
| Agni-I | MRBM | 700 – 900 km | 1,000 |
| Agni-II | MRBM | 2,000 – 3,000 km | 750 – 1,000 |
| Agni-III | IRBM | 3,500 – 5,000 km | 2,000 – 2,500 |
| Agni-IV | IRBM | 3,000 – 4,000 km | 800 – 1,000 |
| Agni-V | ICBM | 5,000 – 8,000 km (Testing) | 1,500 (3 – 10 MIRV) |
| Agni-VI | ICBM | 8,000 – 10,000 km (Under development) | 1,000 (10 MIRV) |
MIRV: Multiple Independently targetable Re-entry Vehicle
Anti-satellite weapons (ASAT)
- In March 2019, India successfully tested its ASAT missile.
- The ASAT missile destroyed a live satellite in Low Earth orbit (283-kilometre).
- As per DRDO, the missile is capable of shooting down targets moving at a speed of 10 km per second at an altitude as high as 1200 km.
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