Science and Technology Quick Revision Part-4

DRDO

• DRDO is the Research and development (R&D) wing of Ministry of Defence.
• Vision: Empowering the nation with state-of-the-art indigenous Defence technologies and systems.
• “Balasya Mulam Vigyanam”—the source of strength is science-drives the nation in peace and war.
• DRDO has firm determination to make the nation strong and self-reliant.
• DRDO was formed in 1958 from the amalgamation of the then already functioning Technical Development Establishment (TDEs) of the Indian Army and the Directorate of Technical Development & Production (DTDP) with the Defence Science Organisation (DSO).
• DRDO is a network of around 41 laboratories and 5 DRDO Young Scientist Laboratories (DYSLs).
• DRDO started its first major project in surface-to-air missiles (SAM) known as Project Indigo in the 1960s.
• Project Devil aimed to develop a short-range surface-to-surface missile.
• Project Valiant aimed to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in the 1970s.
• Project Devil itself led to the later development of the Prithvi missile under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) in the 1980s.
• Missiles are classified based on range: Short-range (SRBM), Medium-range (MRBM), Intermediate-range (IRBM), and Intercontinental (ICBM).
• IGMDP (26 July 1983) was a highly ambitious and successful initiative by India to achieve self-sufficiency in missile technology.
• Five Missiles Developed under IGMDP:
  • Prithvi: A short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile.
  • Agni: An intermediate-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile.
  • Trishul: A short-range, low-level surface-to-air missile.
  • Akash: A medium-range surface-to-air missile.
  • Nag: A third-generation anti-tank guided missile.
• In 2024, DRDO tested India’s first long-range hypersonic missile (Range >1500km and 3km per second speed).
  • Long Range – Anti Ship Missile (LRAShM) hypersonic missile test fired on 16 November 2024.

India’s Nuclear Deterrence Policy

• India follows a “No First Use (NFU)” policy, meaning it will only use nuclear weapons in retaliation.
• Strategic Forces Command (SFC) – Manages India’s nuclear weapons. It is a tri-service command that includes personnel from the Indian Air Force (IAF), Indian Navy, and Indian Army.
• Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) – Headed by the Prime Minister for nuclear launch decisions. Established on January 4, 2003.

Cruise Missiles vs Ballistic Missiles

Prithvi Series Missiles

• Prithvi-I
  • Range: 150 km.
  • Payload: 1,000 kg.
  • Role: Tactical nuclear and conventional strikes.
• Prithvi-II
  • Range: 250–350 km.
  • Payload: 500 kg.
  • Role: Strategic strikes with nuclear or conventional warheads.
• Prithvi-III
  • Range: 350–600 km.
  • Payload: 1000 kg.
  • Role: Both Land and Naval strategic strikes.
• Dhanush is the naval variant of the Prithvi III missile, which can carry up to 500 kg-1000 kg for a strike range of 350 km. It is launched from a ship-based platform. The submarine version is named Sagarika.

Agni Series (Strategic Nuclear Missiles)

Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs)

• K-15 Sagarika (Short-range)
  • Range: 750 km.
  • Payload: 1,000 kg.
• K-4 (Medium range)
  • Range: 3,500 km.
  • Payload: 2,000 kg.
• K-5 (Under Development – Long range)
  • Range: 5,000+ km.
  • Payload: 2,000 kg (MIRV capable).

Shaurya

• Range: 750–1900 km.
• Payload: 1000 kg.
• Land-based (canister-launched).
• Hypersonic, quick-reaction strategic missile.

Important Missiles

★ Agni-Prime or Agni-P is a two-stage, surface to surface, canister-launched, road mobile and solid-fueled medium-range ballistic missile. Successfully flight-tested on April 3, 2024. It is lighter than any of the previous Agni missiles.

★ Barak-8: Long-range surface-to-air missile. Jointly developed by India and Israel. Range 70-90 km.

★ Helina: Helicopter-launched anti-tank guided missile. This is the version for the Indian Army.

★ Dhruvastra: Helicopter-launched anti-tank guided Air-to-surface missile (ATGM) system. Range: Minimum 500 meters, Maximum 7 kilometers. This is the version for the Indian Air Force.

★ BrahMos: A supersonic cruise missile developed jointly with Russia. It can be launched from land, sea, and air. Fastest supersonic missile of the world. It is a Mach 3 “fire-and-forget” missile.

★ BrahMos II: A hypersonic version of the BrahMos missile.  

★ Nirbhay: A subsonic cruise missile.  

★ Amogha missile is a series of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) developed in India. Amogha-I (2.8km), Amogha-II and Amogha-III.

★ Pralay is India’s first ballistic missile for conventional strikes. Canisterised surface-to-surface, short-range ballistic missile. Range 150-500 km.

★ MPATGM stands for Man-Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile. Range: 2.5km.

★ SANT missile (Stand-Off Anti-Tank Missile) is air-to-surface missile system developed by DRDO for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

★ S-400 Triumf is a long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed by Russia. It’s considered one of the most advanced air defense systems in the world. In 2018, India signed a deal with Russia to buy these.

★ K-100 is a long-range air-to-air missile developed by Russia and India to counter surveillance and intelligence aircraft. It was designed to be used by the Su-30 and Su-35 fighter jets. Maximum Range 400 km.

★ SPYDER (Surface-to-air Python and Derby) is a sophisticated, quick-reaction, and low-to-medium-range air defense system. It’s designed to counter a variety of aerial threats.

★ Anti-Satellite Missiles (ASAT) Designed to destroy enemy satellites in space. Examples: Mission Shakti: Demonstrated in 2019 as part of India’s space defense capabilities. A live Indian satellite in low Earth orbit was destroyed with a direct-hit interceptor missile. This made India the fourth country in the world to possess this capability (after the US, Russia, and China).

★ Hypersonic Technology Demonstrators Missiles and systems in development to achieve hypersonic speeds. Examples: HSTDV (Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle): Tested for speeds above Mach 6; potential for future hypersonic missile systems.

Indian Naval Ships

Aircraft Carriers (INS)

• INS Vikrant is India’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier (IAC-1).
• INS Vikramaditya was acquired from Russia (formerly Admiral Gorshkov).
• INS Vishal is planned as India’s future supercarrier.

Destroyers (INS) – ‘Rajput’, ‘Kolkata’, and ‘Visakhapatnam’ Classes

★ Destroyers are heavily armed warships with anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine capabilities.
★ INS Visakhapatnam is India’s latest stealth-guided missile destroyer.

Frigates (INS) – ‘Shivalik’ and ‘Talwar’ Classes

★ Frigates are smaller than destroyers but are versatile multi-role warships.
★ Shivalik-class are stealth frigates built in India.

Corvettes (INS) – ‘Kamorta’ and ‘Kora’ Classes

★ Corvettes are light warships specializing in anti-submarine warfare (ASW).
★ Kamorta-class is India’s first indigenously built stealth ASW corvette.

Submarines – Nuclear & Diesel-electric (INS)

★ INS Arihant is India’s first indigenous nuclear submarine.
★ Project-75 – INS Kalvari-class (Scorpène submarines) are advanced diesel-electric submarines. Scorpène-class (Kalvari-class) Ships: INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi, INS Karanj, INS Vela, INS Vagir, INS Vagsheer.
★ Future Project-75 Alpha will include indigenous nuclear attack submarines (SSN).

Amphibious & Support Ships

★ Amphibious ships like INS Jalashwa are used for troop landings and humanitarian missions.
★ INS Deepak is a replenishment ship, supplying fuel and supplies to the fleet.

Submarines Under Project 75

1. INS Kalvari
   • Launched: October 27, 2015.
   • Commissioned: December 14, 2017.
2. INS Khanderi
   • Launched: January 12, 2017.
   • Commissioned: September 28, 2019.
3. INS Karanj
   • Launched: January 31, 2018.
   • Commissioned: March 10, 2021.
4. INS Vela
   • Launched: May 6, 2019.
   • Commissioned: November 25, 2021.
5. INS Vagir
   • Launched: November 12, 2020.
   • Commissioned: January 23, 2023.
6. INS Vagsheer
   • Launched: April 20, 2022.
   • Commissioning: January 15, 2025.

List of Director Generals (1948–2015) and Chairpersons (since 2015) of DRDO

1. Daulat Singh Kothari (1948–1961)
2. Suri Bhagavantam (1961–1969)
3. B. D. Nag Chaudhuri (1970–1974)
4. M. G. K. Menon (1974–1978)
5. Raja Ramanna (1978–1982)
6. V. S. R. Arunachalam (1982–1992)
7. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1992–1999)
8. V. K. Aatre (1999–2004)
9. M. Natarajan (2004–2009)
10. V. K. Saraswat (2009–2013)
11. Avinash Chander (2013–2015)
12. S. Christopher (2015–2018)
13. G.Satheesh Reddy (2018-2022)
14. Sameer V. Kamat (2022–present)

DRDO Laboratories or Establishments

Missile & Strategic Systems Labs

Aeronautics & UAVs Labs

Naval Systems & Underwater Warfare Labs

Electronics, Radar & Cyber Systems Labs

Life Sciences & NBC Defence Labs

Armaments & Combat Vehicles Labs

Space & Hypersonic Systems Labs

Source: GOI Webites, DRDO Website, Internet, PIB, Wikipedia