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New Delhi. India has successfully test-fired a new supersonic surface-to-surface
missile (SSM), capable of hitting targets 600 km away. The surprise
announcement about the new missile, named Shourya (or Valour) was made
after the test was conducted Nov 12 at 1125 IST from the Integrated Test Range
(ITR) in Eastern India’s coastal city of Balasore in Orissa. It was
not stated if the missile is tactical or strategic, but it may be recalled that
India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has had some
remarkable successes in missile defence over the last two years. A study of the
officially released pictures of the missile however indicates that Shourya
should be capable of being nuclear-tipped, if not now then in the near future. Sources
said that the missile was a technology demonstrator, and a test to showcase some
of the technologies that DRDO can offer to the Indian armed forces. How the missile
is finally developed, will depend upon user requirements, in this case, the Indian
Army. Sources also indicated that the missile is able to carry a warhead
of 500 kilos, with near precision to a target due to its sophisticated inertial
guidance system. It may be noted that the longer the distance, the more
the technological challenge in maintaining the course of a missile. Shourya
is believed to have excellent inertial guidance but no terminal guidance capability
like a combination of terrain mapping and GPS that are essential in a cruise missile. It
may be noted that missiles intended to hit an area – rather than a precise
location – are designated strategic, and they carry nuclear or other warheads
for massive destruction. Technologically, it does not matter where they fall because
the desired effect is the same. A tactical missile on the on the other hand
is meant to attack precise enemy locations to win advantage in a war. Shourya
will perhaps be developed in both these roles. That the Indian scientists
have been able to develop a supersonic missile, using indigenous capability and
apparently some commercially available off the shelf components (COTS) is a noteworthy
achievement. The test was witnessed by DRDO Chief and Scientific Adviser
to the Defence Minister M Natarajan and DRDO’s chief missile scientist Dr
Vijay Kumar Saraswat and Shourya Programme Director A K Chakrabarti. The
firing was also shown live to the top military and security brass in New Delhi
through a video link, and among those present at the DRDO headquarters to witness
this was Deputy National Security Advisor Shekhar Dutt. Dr W Selvamurthy,
DRDO’s Chief Controller (R&D), described the test as a milestone achievement. “The
successful Shourya test is a significant milestone in building capability
for the nation in missiles, both for strategic and tactical applications,”
he said. The missile flew for 485 seconds to reach its designated target,
and the achievement was welcomed with clapping of hands and congratulations. It
should take two to four years to make Shourya operational and induct it
in the Indian Army, which can deploy it on mobile platforms or in underground
silos for protection against incoming attacks. That means strengthening of India’s
second strike capability to inflict “massive punishment” on an aggressor. India
has a declared No-First-Use (NFU) nuclear policy. This also states that if attacked,
India would inflict massive destruction on the country that does so. At
present, the DRDO and the Indian Armed Forces are working towards building this
capability with acquisition of offensive nuclear weapons and defensive countermeasures
that include anti-missile missiles like the US Patriot as well as electronic warfare
steps. The Indian Army had in fact issued a worldwide tender this year for
anti-missile missiles. Industry sources said though that the US arms technology
major Raytheon, that makes Patriot, had not been able to bid due to the delay
in procedural clearance from the Bush administration. There are four cornerstones
of India’s nuclear weapons policy: - No-First-Use (NFU) or No-First-Attack;
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No Nuclear Attack on a Non-Nuclear Weapons country;
- Sufficient Nuclear
Capability towards Deterrence, so as to prevent a nuclear attack; and
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Strong Destruction Capability with nuclear weapons to massively punish an aggressor
country that initiates a nuclear attack.
India is building Land, Air
and Sea-based nuclear launch capability in that perspective. India has already
tested a missile from an underwater facility for deployment on submarines. Submarine-based
nuclear weapons are regarded as the safest, particularly if the submarines also
are powered by nuclear generators giving them months of undetected submergence.
India has already tested a missile from an underground platform for eventual integration
on Indian Navy submarines. The solid propellant Shourya maintains
a supersonic course, although initially, it does achieve hypersonic speed. Notably,
most ballistic missiles are hyper or supersonic. It’s only the cruise missiles,
which need very sophisticated terminal guidance gadgetry, that are generally subsonic.
As yet, the known cruise missiles in the world are subsonic, like the Tomahawk
which the US has used in Iraq and Afghanistan. The only known and declared
supersonic exception is the Indo-Russian BrahMos, and India has already deployed
its land and naval variants. The range of the BrahMos though is only 300
km. The limitation in BrahMos is imposed by Russia which is a member of
the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which prohibits export of weapons
with range beyond 300km and warhead weight of more than 500 kg. India has not
signed the voluntary treaty but has observed it as part of its nonproliferation
policy. BrahMos is believed to be on offer to some “friendly”
Gulf, Latin American and Asian countries. The Indian and Russian governments are
coordinating with each other in this regard. Shourya was declared
as indigenous, and part of the ongoing effort to build a credible nuclear deterrence
capability. “It is an Indian missile, and has sophisticated agility and maneuverability
as well as defence against anti-missile interception capability,” sources
told this writer. Shourya is maintained in and fired from a canister,
giving it mobility of deployment. It can also be positioned in underground silos,
to keep it hidden and safe from pre-emptive or first strikes. As India has
a No-First-Strike policy, the silos would be useful in deploying this missile
towards inflicting destructive nuclear punishment on an aggressor. Missiles in
silos – whether Shourya or others – would add to India excellent
second strike capability. DRDO's Director for Public Interface Suranjan
Pal said: “Shourya has a unique feature of simplicity of operation
and maintenance. The canisterised missile system can be easily handled, transported
and stored within the canister for longer shelf life. The high manoeurability
of the missile makes it less vulnerable to available anti-missile defence systems. “This
developmental flight trial of Shourya missile system is a part of ongoing
technology development work undertaken by DRDO.” | 
