India all set to test fire under sea missile

New Delhi (PTI): India is all set to test fire its first ever under sea ballistic missile and join the select band of five nations who have the technology.

The missile K-15, with a range of 700-km, would be test fired from a pontoon immersed in the sea shortly, according to Chief Controller of the Defence Research and Development S Prahlada.

"We have completed all preparations for the first ever test launch of the missile and awaiting Governmet's nod," Prahlada told newsmen at the ongoing CII-sponsored Defence Expo here.

The defence scientist said the test would be conducted in the seas off the interim test range site at Balasore in Orissa.

He said the DRDO would need just one test to ratify the missile systems and the parameters which would form the main armament of the country's indigenous nuclear submarine expected to enter sea trials late next year.

With this success, India would join handful of countries like the US, Russia, France and China to possess such a capability and it would considerably enhance the country's nuclear deterrence, as sea-launched missiles will form crucial platform for the country's second strike nuclear capability.

The test, he said, would be conducted from a pontoon immersed in the sea as the country does not have a submarine platform to test fire the missile.

Prahlada said DRDO had almost perfected the dry-run trials on the key missile and it would be integrated with the advanced technology vehicle, as officials called the indigenous nuclear submarine there after.

The DRDO official said the preparations have also been made to conduct the second test of 3000-km range Agni-III missile.

"We are just awaiting the weather condition to improve to go ahead with the test," he said.

Prahlada said Agni-III would be ready for induction in the strategic command forces after two more tests.

In the course of his chat, the DRDO official said almost all the major missile system in the country had now been fully inducted.

"DRDO is now getting inquiries for various ranges of Indian missiles from different nations," he said adding it was upto the government to clear the sales keeping in view the international parameters.

He said proposals had been cleared by the government for a joint venture with Israel to produce long-range surface-to- air missile for the Navy.

The Government has cleared the deal worth Rs 2,500 crore and the advanced missile would be ready for induction in three years time.

He said parts of the missile systems would be made in India and the rest in Israel.

LCA Tejas undergoes successful high-altitude trials at Leh

New Delhi: India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) crossed a major milestone when prototype vehicle PV-3 landed at Leh air base in the high-altitude Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir for high altitude testing of its systems and engines.

"Tejas (LCA) programme reached a major milestone when the prototype vehicle PV-3 landed at Leh on December 13 this year at 1326 hours," Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officials said here on Tuesday.

Leh airfield, situated at an altitude of 10,600 feet, is one of the highest airfields in the world and experiences temperature variations ranging from plus 5 degrees Celsius to minus 20 degrees Celsius.

The objective of the flight trials conducted at Leh was to expose on-board systems to extreme low temperatures and also to assess aircraft performance in rarefied atmospheric conditions, DRDO officials said.

They also said that two Tejas prototypes, PV-3 and LSP-2, were involved in the environmental test. The LSP-2 prototype is powered by the latest F404-GE- IN20 engine with Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC). The engine is in the Standard of Preparation (SOP) mode and will be cleared for induction in IAF service soon.

Reports from the trial location suggest that the current phase of flight trial was progressing with aircraft and systems performing well. Officials said the aircraft were soaked overnight in cold weather, with temperature around minus 20 degrees Celsius and successfully powered up next day for operation.

Based on the F404-GE-402, the F404-GE-IN20 is the highest-rated F404 model and includes a higher-flow fan, increased thrust, a Full Authority Digital Electronic Control (FADEC) system, single-crystal turbine blades and a variety of single-engine features.

The F404-GE-IN20 succeeds F404-F2J3 development engines used for nearly 900 flights, cumulatively covering nine engines.