60-second revision
- DRDO was set up in 1958; IGMDP began in 1983 under APJ Abdul Kalam.
- IGMDP five: Prithvi and Agni (surface-to-surface), Trishul and Akash (surface-to-air), Nag (anti-tank).
- BrahMos = India + Russia; name from Brahmaputra + Moskva; supersonic cruise missile.
- Agni-5 has a range of over 5,000 km; Mission Divyastra (11 March 2024) tested it with MIRV.
- Mission Shakti (27 March 2019): ASAT test, India fourth after USA, Russia, China.
- INS Arihant = first indigenous SSBN; INS Vikrant (2022) = first indigenous aircraft carrier.
- Nuclear doctrine (2003): no first use, credible minimum deterrence, Nuclear Command Authority.
DRDO and the missile programme
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was formed in 1958 and works under the Ministry of Defence through a network of laboratories. In 1983 the government launched the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) under APJ Abdul Kalam, who had earlier led ISRO's SLV-3. The programme was formally closed in 2008 after its missiles had matured.
| IGMDP missile | Type | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Prithvi | Surface-to-surface, short-range ballistic | Battlefield strike |
| Agni | Surface-to-surface, ballistic (series grew to intercontinental range) | Strategic deterrence |
| Trishul | Short-range surface-to-air | Air defence (later shelved) |
| Akash | Medium-range surface-to-air | Shoots down aircraft, drones and missiles |
| Nag | Anti-tank guided missile, fire-and-forget | Destroys tanks |
Ballistic vs cruise missiles
- Ballistic missile: powered only in the early phase, then follows a high, arcing (ballistic) path to the target. Agni and Prithvi are ballistic.
- Cruise missile: powered throughout, flies low and level like an aircraft and can manoeuvre. BrahMos (supersonic) and Nirbhay (subsonic) are cruise missiles.
- Speed terms: subsonic (below the speed of sound), supersonic (Mach 1 to 5), hypersonic (above Mach 5).
Key missiles and tests
- BrahMos: India–Russia joint venture (DRDO and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya); name from the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers. Flies at nearly three times the speed of sound and can be launched from land, ships, submarines and aircraft.
- Agni-5: intercontinental-range ballistic missile with a range of over 5,000 km. On 11 March 2024, Mission Divyastra flight-tested it with MIRV (Multiple Independently targetable Re-entry Vehicle) technology — several warheads, each able to hit a different target.
- Astra: beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile for fighter aircraft.
- Mission Shakti (27 March 2019): an anti-satellite (ASAT) missile destroyed a live Indian satellite in low Earth orbit. India became the fourth country with this capability, after the USA, Russia and China.
- Missile tests are usually conducted off the Odisha coast — from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island (formerly Wheeler Island) and the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur.
Platforms: air, land and sea
| System | Type | Maker / note |
|---|---|---|
| Tejas | Light combat aircraft | Designed by ADA, built by HAL |
| Prachand | Light combat helicopter | HAL |
| Dhruv | Advanced light helicopter | HAL |
| Arjun | Main battle tank | DRDO (CVRDE, Chennai) |
| Pinaka | Multi-barrel rocket launcher | DRDO |
| INS Vikrant (2022) | Aircraft carrier | First indigenously designed and built; Cochin Shipyard |
| INS Vikramaditya | Aircraft carrier | Ex-Soviet Admiral Gorshkov, refitted in Russia and commissioned into the Indian Navy in 2013 |
| INS Arihant | Nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) | First indigenous SSBN |
Nuclear triad and doctrine
A nuclear triad means being able to deliver nuclear weapons from land (Agni missiles), air (fighter aircraft) and sea (submarines). India completed its triad when INS Arihant finished its first deterrence patrol in 2018.
- India's nuclear doctrine was made public in January 2003.
- Credible minimum deterrence: keep just enough capability to deter an attack.
- No first use: nuclear weapons only in retaliation against a nuclear attack on Indian territory or Indian forces anywhere; retaliation would be massive. India keeps the option of a nuclear response to a major biological or chemical attack.
- No use against non-nuclear-weapon states.
- Decisions rest with the Nuclear Command Authority — a Political Council chaired by the Prime Minister and an Executive Council chaired by the National Security Adviser. The Strategic Forces Command manages the arsenal.
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