Tag Archives: cruise missiles
Advances in Missile Delivery Systems
EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Conference 2015, Brussels, November 11-12, 2015
Rajaram Nagappa, Head, International Strategic and Security Studies Programme, NIAS
Prof Rajaram Nagappa made a presentation on Cruise Missiles at the Special Session on Advances in Missile Delivery Systems at the EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Conference at Brussels on November 11, 2015. The other speakers on the panel were James Acton, Co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Igor Sutyagin, Senior Research Fellow, Russian Studies, Royal United Services Institute.
The audio of the presentations and the discussions at the panel are available at the IISS You Tube channel. The same is embedded below. For more details see the IISS Website.
An Assessment of China’s Ballistic and Cruise Missiles
An Assessment of China’s Ballistic and Cruise Missiles
Authors: S. Chandrashekar, Sonika Gupta, Rajaram Nagappa, Arvind Kumar
To read complete report in pdf click here
The primary objective of this study is to provide an independent assessment of Chinese ballistic and cruise missile capability. The study also addresses the organisational, strategic and political links in China that impact upon its missile programme.
The study on the Chinese Ballistic and Cruise Missiles uses images of these missiles available in the public domain to make an independent assessment of their capabilities. Length and diameter measurements on the images of these missiles are used to estimate propellant and stage masses. These estimates are used along with trajectory and range models to assess the performance of the missiles. This methodology has been applied to the DF-1, the DF-2, the DF-3, the DF-4, the DF-5, the JL-1 / DF-21, the JL-2 / DF-31, the DF-15 and the DF-11 ballistic missiles. The scope of our study also included the longer range cruise missiles. Since there were not many images of these missiles available in the public domain we were not able to extend these methods to cover them. However, we have taken stock of developments in Chinese cruise missiles. As and when images become available we believe that our approach can be used to assess their performance as well.
The DF-1 and the DF-2 missiles that the Chinese had built with assistance from the Soviet Union have been retired from active service. Our measurements of the length and diameter of these missiles are in agreement with values quoted in the published literature. The DF-3 was the first indigenous missile developed by the Chinese. It was also the first missile to use earth storable propellants – UDMH and AK-27. Though the chronology of the images is not exact, our analysis of the images shows a trend of increasing sophistication and performance. The analysis confirms the existence of at least two variants of the DF-3. We also see three warheads with the shortest of them possibly being a conventional warhead. The DF-3 has been exported by China to Saudi Arabia with a conventional warhead capability.
The study also works out a procedure for independently trying to estimate the number of DF-5 missiles produced by China. It also looks at the links between the political, military and economic environment and the missile programme and how these have changed in response to the both internal and external challenges that China faced over the last fifty years. Current developments and how they will affect the Chinese missile programme are also briefly touched upon.
Assessment of Pakistan’s Babur-HATF 7 Cruise Missile
Assessment of Pakistan’s Babur-HATF 7 Cruise Missile
Authors: Rajaram Nagappa, S Chandrashekar
To read complete report in pdf click here
Pakistan has developed the Babur subsonic cruise missile and conducted five flights of the missile between August 2005 and December 2007. The range of the missile was stated to be 500 km in the initial flights. However, an increased range of 700 km was claimed in the latest flight. There was also a suggestion that the range may be further increased to 1000 km. While the Pakistan media have shown pictures of the missile in the static and flight conditions, no dimensional or mass details of the missile have been officially released.
An assessment of the missile dimensions has been carried out by studying these images. It is surmised that the missile diameter may be 560 mm and the total length 6.6 m. Other features of the missile have also been outlined. The missile range is computed using Tomahawk missile aerodynamic data. There is sufficient commonality in shape and dimensions between the Babur and the Tomahawk to justify this assumption. Our analysis indicates that the claimed range of 500 km for the missile is achievable. During the preparation of this report, Pakistan launched an Air Launched Cruise Missile, Raad on August 25, 2007. The Raad pictures have also been studied. Our preliminary findings indicate that the missile is different from the Babur. The Raad missile is 4.86 metres long and has a diameter of 880 mm.
