To move from the naval component of the Indian nuclear triad to the land and air component, another "achievement" of the Indian nuclear missile industry should be mentioned. This is a surface-based ballistic missile "Dhanush", belonging to the OTR class. Its range is no more than 350-400 km with a warhead weighing 1 ton. It is claimed that from 500 kg and 250 kg it will fly up to 600-700 km, but is there such lightweight SBS in India? Not yet, since practically all nuclear potential carriers are designed for a ton load. But it will obviously appear.
Its other name is "Prithvi-3", two other OTRs with this name were developed for the ground forces ("Prithvi-1", range 150 km, warhead weight 1 ton), and the Air Force ("Prithvi-2", range 250 km, experimental launches were carried out at 350 km with a different guidance system, warhead mass 0.5 t). The first Prithvi appeared in the early 90s, and was put into service in 1994. There are 24 launchers for this missile in service with two missile groups. It could be considered an analogue of our "Tochka-U", and the range is comparable, but technologically it is much lower in class, approximately at the level of the withdrawn from service French OTR "Pluto" or American "Lance". The second, aeroballistic, has been "successfully tested" in the best Indian style since 1996, then there was a break until 2009 and they continue to this day - the last launch took place at the beginning of this year, it was the 20th in a row, and it is stated that that 19 launches were either successful or partially successful. The question is, citizens, if your tests are so successful, why have they been going on for 10 years, if you do not remember the launch of 1996 and a break of 13 years? Maybe you are not saying something?
OTR "Prithvi-1" on launcher
"Prithvi" - liquid-propellant missiles, and no mention of any tank encapsulation was found, which, in general, means all the same problems that were on our old ballistic missiles with liquid-propellant rocket engines, which did not have such - a long time to prepare for launch, limited the time spent in combat readiness, the need to drain fuel and oxidizer and various technical operations with the rocket. Although, however, on the well-known OTRK "Elbrus", the missile time in a fueled state was ultimately guaranteed up to 1 year (in a hot climate - half as much), and in an upright position, that is, ready for launch, up to a week. The Indians, in theory, could well have reached comparable indicators - nevertheless, not Yars-level technologies and quite tough. But did they come out? Moreover, on the naval version of Prithvi (that is, Dhanushe) there are not one, but two steps - the first step with a solid-propellant engine was added. This naval ballistic missile has been tested since 2000, from two Sukanaya-class patrol ships - from the helicopter deck, specially reinforced for this, and the rocket was being prepared for launch in a helicopter hangar, where up to 2 missiles can be stored. Also, one launch took place from the Rajput destroyer (Project 61ME, the relatives of our last "singing frigate" are still in full force in the Indian Navy). The usefulness of such a weapon seems questionable - the surface ship will have to come very close to the coast of Pakistan, the ammunition load is small, it seems that the Dhanush complex was developed in case things go wrong with the SLBM. Now it is not developing, new carriers do not appear, so we can assume that there are only 3 carriers capable of releasing 3 OTPs and 3 more after some time. If not drowned. The presence of this Indian miracle weapon in service can be justified, in addition to the traditional corruption issues, also by the rivalry within the Navy between the submarine and the surface forces, which feel "nuclear deprived". Well, they developed it, tested it, invested money - and now they are dragging this suitcase without a handle.
Launch of surface-based OTR "Dhanush" from the deck of a ship of the Indian Navy. As you can see, everything is organized extremely primitive and is more suitable for launching carrier rockets than modern combat missiles.
Preparation for launch from the Sukanaya-class patrol ship
Developments are underway in India and CD with nuclear equipment, so far only ground-based. It is called "Nirbhai", it has a mass of more than 1.5 tons, the declared range is more than 1000 km, the warhead weighs 200-300 kg, which is not enough, of course, for the Kyrgyz Republic, and even more so for the nuclear warheads that India still has. So the nuclear one is still only in the plans, it will probably have a naval option - but sometime later. The CD is subsonic and outwardly looks quite standard and is, perhaps, more similar to American Tomahokes than to our CDs and their Chinese or Iranian clones. In the meantime, the rocket has been tested 5 times since 2013, there were only 2 successful launches, and they tried to declare two more partially successful, although, for example, it is strange to consider a launch as such, in which the CD flew 128 km instead of 1000 and crashed. Yes, India also has the BrahMos anti-ship missile system, produced by the Russian-Indian joint venture, capable of engaging ground targets. But it will never be nuclear, despite its origin from the non-export anti-ship missile "Onyx", about which nothing says that it has no non-nuclear option. The nonproliferation regime must be honored.
Launcher of the Nirbhai ground-based experimental KR. So far, there is no talk of any TPK.
To replace the OTR "Prithvi-1" in India, a new solid-fuel OTR "Prahaar" weighing 1, 3 tons with a range of up to 150 km is being developed, but it is declared to be a high-precision, but only non-nuclear weapon. Obviously, the mass of a warhead of 150 kg is insufficient for nuclear charges. A feature of this complex is as many as 6 missiles on a mobile launcher, which is more typical for MLRS, and not for OTRK. So far, there have been 2 launches declared successful, but there were as many as 7 years between launches - in 2011 and 2018, which hints at the apparent failure of the first launch, with a rework of the rocket design. And they will experience it for a long time.
Let's move on to a more solid weapon - the Agni series missiles. The first of them, "Agni-1", was developed back in the 90s and passed a significant number of flight tests, both successful and not very successful. A rocket with a mass of 12 tons has one stage, a range of 700-900 km and carries a detachable warhead with a mass of a ton, standard for Indian nuclear devices, or up to 2 tons, but, of course, at a shorter distance. There are also conventional equipment options, including cassette ones. In total, 12 (according to other sources, 20) launchers are in service as part of the 334th missile group of the Strategic Forces Command, and they are aimed, of course, at Pakistan, dear and beloved by the Indians. Of course, this command is still far from the strategic level, but no matter what the child is amusing, the Saudis do have Strategic Missile Forces. With Chinese MRBMs in conventional equipment, for decades they have not conducted a single exercise or combat training launch. The Indians are at least busy with real business.
A new ballistic missile of the same radius, Pralai, is being prepared to replace Agni-1, but there is no reliable information about this project, and there have been no launches yet. At about the same time as the first version, the Agni-2 IRBM with a mass of 16 tons, two-stage, with the same payload and with declared ranges of more than 3000 km (one of the Indian luminaries of the missile program agreed and up to 3700 km) was created. However, in no test a range of more than 2000 "with a tail" of various lengths was recorded, so that the range can be recognized as about 2000 km. Theoretically, it can fly approximately up to 2800 km, but a missile that did not fly at the maximum range cannot be considered a missile capable of operating at this range. Calculations can do a lot, but neither the two superpowers, nor France neglect the launch at the maximum distance, otherwise unpleasant surprises cannot be avoided. Here is China - it launches almost all of its ICBMs within the national territory, which also casts doubt on their real intercontinental capabilities.
"Agni-2" also has a detachable warhead, and the availability of options with a seeker, increased accuracy is also approved. Despite the formal readiness announced back in 2004, it appeared in service only in 2011. - The Indians eliminated problems with the allegedly passed all the tests of the product. It is in service in the 335th missile group, from 8 to 12 mobile launchers aimed at part of Chinese territory. Despite being in service, of the two combat training launches in 2017 and 2018. only the latter was successful. The disadvantage of both this and the previous system is the long preparation time for launch - from 15 to 30 minutes, although initially it was about half a day, which is completely unacceptable in our time. And the very start of an open type, with a launch table, is a distant past for advanced countries.
All "Agni" in one shot
This is where the list of (for India, of course) combat-ready ground-based ballistic missile systems ends and profanation, or rather politics, begins. The solid-propellant two-stage MRBM "Agni-3" railway-based with a range declared as 3200-3500 km (a number of Indian sources claim 5000 km, but, of course, you can say anything) has a mass of up to 45 tons (that is, almost like the ICBM "Topol -M "or" Yars ", which already speaks of the real level of this development), carries a warhead weighing up to 2.5 tons, both conventional and nuclear. Probably, part of the payload is occupied at a primitive level by a complex of means for overcoming missile defense - data on this are available.
Of course, we are not talking about autonomous missile trains such as the BZHRK "Molodets" or the temporarily postponed "Barguzin" - just a launcher on a platform rolled out of a relatively protected shelter tunnel. The system has been tested since 2006 as many as 6 times, all launches were declared successful or partially successful, and after the fourth it was pushed into service. That already raises reasonable doubts about the ability to comprehensively test the complex in just a few launches. But, apparently, it was very necessary to have such an argument in service so that the opponents surrounding India were afraid and respected. It is believed that there are 8-10 Agni-3 launchers where they are based - not really known, but most likely somewhere in the north and northeast of India to reach the Chinese east coast. But where, should they be in need, they will be able to fly with such a level of working off - this is the question.
In addition to these three "fires" ("Agni" in Sanskrit means "fire"), three more are in India at various stages of development and testing - "Agni-4", "Agni-5" and "Agni-6". "Agni-4" used to be called "Agni-2-prime", that is, it is clear on the basis of which BR it was created. This MRBM with a mass of 17-20 tons and a range of 3500-4000 km, carries a ton of load and was allegedly tested 5 times successfully and 1 launch was emergency. The reason for developing it is clear - the Indians, of course, are unhappy with the 50-ton MRBM and want to have something more digestible instead of Agni-3. But while the fourth "Agni" is not yet in service, although it is stated that it will happen "just about", which in Indian realities can mean anything. Its launcher is mobile, but like other Indian MRBMs, it is a trailer, not a self-propelled system.
Videos of test launches of all five Indian "lights"
At the same time, the fifth version of the "fire" is being tested, which is a development of the "Agni-3" - the same mass of 50 tons, but the range is declared as much as 5800-6000 km, which takes it out of the MRBM class and puts it in the class of "intermediate" missiles, between ICBMs and MRBM. But experts estimate its range at 4500, maximum 5000 km. The rocket is three-stage, and, unlike the previous ones, is finally transported and launched from a transport and launch container (TPK), which, of course, is much better than transporting a rocket open to all winds. For example, this allows you to reduce the preparation time for the start. But the launch trailer with this TPK has 7 axles and a mass of 140 tons - this is much more than the mass of the APU PGRK "Yars" or "Topol-M". Of course, such a non-self-propelled and heavy, and even dimensional means of movement sharply limits the maneuverability of the complex, which, most likely, will be limited to a certain prepared small route around the protected shelter. They refused to build mine launchers in India - and a lot of money is needed for this, and knowledge and skills and specialists in such work, which there is nowhere to get. The Russians will not carry out such work, nor will the Americans.
"Agni-5" flew 6 times and supposedly - everything was successful. But so far, there is no talk of accepting it into service either. The Indian press ascribes to this rocket various fantastic capabilities for India, such as equipping MIRVs for individual guidance and even maneuvering warheads, but, of course, all this can be attributed to propaganda - India does not yet have such capabilities either in the field of miniaturization of nuclear charges, or in the field of creating themselves compact warheads and their breeding systems. It's not worth talking about maneuvering warheads.
India is also developing a "real" ICBM "Agni-6", with a range of up to 10,000-12,000 km, as a gift to American "partners", but nothing but talk about its future unscientific fantastic capabilities, like 10 warheads on board, is heard … The Americans themselves, by the way, do not believe in the tales about 10 BB, and believe that it will be an oversized Agni-5, and assume that the range will not exceed 6-7 thousand kilometers. What will happen in the end, if it works out once, we will see. Also, at the level of tales, one can perceive "information" about the development since 1994. ICBM "Surya", with a mass of 55 tons and carrying from 3 to 10 BB for a range of up to 16,000 km. Obviously, somewhere in the ruins in India, they dug up a whole vimana with an anti-gravity installation and adapt new technologies - nothing else can explain such "parameters". As well as the fact that since 1994, apart from chatter at various levels, there is nothing.
The air component of the Indian "regional" nuclear triad can be perceived as purely tactical. But it was aviation that was the first carrier of Indian nuclear weapons. The Indian Air Force has nothing but free-fall nuclear aerial bombs, and there is still no information about the development of an air-based CD. The aforementioned Prithvi-2, of course, could give Indian pilots some remote capabilities - if it left the stage of "successful long-term tests." It is difficult to say exactly what types of aircraft in the Indian Air Force are carriers of "free heat and light". It is clear that all types of aircraft were sold to India without specific equipment that turns the aircraft into a carrier of nuclear bombs. And the Indians themselves had to create such equipment so that it could fit into the free volumes of aircraft and interface with the weapons control system. In theory, both the MiG-21-93 "Bizon", and the Su-30MKI, and the MiG-29, and, moreover, the MiG-27D - can carry nuclear bombs. As well as the Mirage-2000N / I and Jaguar-IS can carry them. There were reports that the Indians had converted Mirages and Jaguars, but the MiG-27's nuclear carrier was no worse, if not better, than the Jaguar, and they could also be converted. Another question is how many bombs and aircraft themselves, converted to deliver nuclear strikes. The same H. Christensen believes that 16 Mirages and 32 Jaguars were involved in the task of nuclear deterrence, and counts them 1 bomb in ammunition. However, this gentleman generally counts and counts extremely freely, and we have already seen this, considering at one time his calculations of the Russian TNW, by studying the patterns on the ceiling. There, he also chose one or two types of aircraft of the operational-tactical aviation of the Aerospace Forces and counted a bomb after them, although we do not believe that the ammunition load should include one, and not several, nuclear bombs per vehicle. So how many types of aircraft are real and how many aircraft of each type, and how many bombs they have - this is a question to which there is no exact answer.
But there are hardly many of them. The fact is that the amount of weapons-grade plutonium produced by India is known, which cannot be dispensed with when creating both nuclear weapons and tritium-reinforced or thermonuclear weapons. There is about 600 kg of plutonium of the required quality, this would be enough for 150-200 warheads, however, India said that not all plutonium was used for the production of nuclear weapons. So the upper limit of the Indian nuclear arsenal is known. Our experts believe that India has about 80-100 ammunition of all types, including an exchange fund and ammunition for spare missiles, etc. Some researchers believe that there are about 100-120 ammunition, but all the same Christensen counts 130-140 ammunition for them, including the exchange fund. One way or another, although the Indian arsenal is inferior to the Chinese or French, it is quite comparable to that which remained in the UK, albeit somewhat smaller than it.
Is this enough for India? They believe that it is quite, and consider it necessary for themselves to develop means of delivery in order to be able to influence and any kind of response potential against Washington. Moreover, the delivery vehicles as a whole are still at a very primitive technical level, despite a number of successes, according to a number of indicators this is the level of the 60s, somewhere - the level of the 70s, and only guidance systems exceed this level. And then the question is, how are they with reliability and resistance to various factors destabilizing their work.
New Delhi understands that Washington understands only those who have something to answer. Who took Kim Jong-un seriously in the US before he showed off some kind of ICBM? No one. And now the situation has changed dramatically. India, of course, is incomparable in weight with the DPRK, but without a nuclear club, but at least a cane, it will be perceived quite differently. It is Moscow that does not have the habit of "spitting on its lips" on long-term partners, but in the United States it is easy. Although they are afraid to spoil relations with India.
