Surface to Surface Missile

This article will give brief details about the Surface-to-Surface missile. It will be useful for candidates when they attempt the Science and Technology Segment of the IAS Exam.

What is a Surface-to-Surface missile?

A surface-to-surface missile is a missile that is launched from the ground to strike land or sea targets. They may be fired from hand-held or vehicles, from a ship or ground installations. They are often powered by a rocket engine or sometimes fired by an explosive charge since the launching platform is typically stationary or moving slowly. They usually have fins and/or wings for lift and stability, although hyper-velocity or short-ranged missiles may use body lift or fly a ballistic trajectory.

The V-1 flying bomb was the first operational surface-to-surface missile, used by Nazi Germany during the closing stages of World War II to bomb European Cities. Although they lacked any strategic value, the Allied powers saw the potential in such a missile and began developing their own variants.

Agni Missile

The first Agni series missile, Agni-1, was tested in the year 1989, with a range of 1000 Km. There are 5 Agni series of missiles. The maximum range of Agni series of missiles is that of Agni-5 with a range of 5000 Km. With this range, India can target Beijing, capital of China. This missile is developed by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO).

What is the Name of India’s Surface-to-Surface missile?

There are different surface to surface missiles developed by India.

1. Prithvi series of missiles – Min Range 150 Km and Max range is around 500 Km.
2. Agni series of missiles – Min Range 700 km and max range is around 5000 Km.
3. Nirbhay – Subsonic Cruise missile with a range of 1000 km
4. Brahmos – Jointly Developed with Russia. It is the fastest cruise missile in the world with a range of around 300 Km.
5. Prahar – This is a missile with a range of 150 km.

Except for Brahmos, all the above missiles are developed indigenously by DRDO. Brahmos is developed by Brahmos Aerospace, a joint venture of DRDO and NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM) of Russia.

Is Brahmos a Surface to-Surface missile?

Brahmos Missile has 3 different variants.

1. Surface to Surface missile.
2. Ship variant – missile which can be launched from Warships
3. Airborne variant – Brahmos can be launched from Fighter Aircrafts. Recently India successfully test-fired Brahmos from Sukhoi 30 Mki.

Which Country has the Fastest Missile in the World?

India and Russia has the fastest missile in the world. Brahmos is considered as the fastest missile in the world with a speed of 2.8 Mach. They are in process of developing a hypersonic version of Brahmos missile.

The above details would help candidates preparing for UPSC 2023.

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