Pralay Missile: India’s First Quasi-Ballistic Missile

Context: DRDO successfully test-fired the Pralay missile from Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast.

About Pralay Missile

Pralay, India’s first quasi-ballistic missile, represents a significant step forward in the nation’s defence technology. Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Pralay combines advanced precision-guided technology with high-speed manoeuvrability, making it a formidable addition to India’s arsenal.

• It is powered by a solid-propellant rocket motor & is capable of carrying conventional warheads.
• Pralay complements BrahMos and Prahar missiles, which are already in the Indian missile inventory.
• Global Examples: Russia’s Iskander-M & China’s Dong Feng 12a

Quasi-ballistic Features

• Flies at lower altitudes with a depressed trajectory
• Capable of mid-air manoeuvrability
• Difficult to detect and intercept due to reduced radar visibility and evasive flight path

Strategic Importance

• Counterforce Capability: Pralay provides India with an edge in striking high-value enemy targets, including missile silos, airfields, and logistics hubs.
• Deterrence: Its development strengthens India’s posture in maintaining regional stability and countering threats, particularly in contested areas.
• Indigenization: As a product of DRDO, Pralay showcases India’s growing self-reliance in advanced missile technology.

Quasi – Ballistic Missiles

• It combines features of traditional ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.
• Unlike pure ballistic missiles that follow a high-arcing trajectory, quasi-ballistic missiles:
  • Manoeuvre mid-flight to adjust their path.
  • Generally, they fly at a lower altitude, making them harder to detect and intercept.

Key Characteristics

• Speed: Travel at high speeds, often in the hypersonic range (Mach 5 or above).
• Stealth capacity: Can evade missile defence systems more effectively than standard ballistic missiles.
• Precision: Designed for greater accuracy, making them ideal for targeted strikes.

Warhead Options

• Anti-armour Warhead:
  • Designed to destroy modern armoured vehicles
  • Effective against Rolled Homogenous Armour (RHA) and Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA)
• Penetration-cum-Blast Warhead:
  • Optimised for anti-bunker and hardened structure targeting
• Pre-fragmentation Warhead:
  • Provides a wide lethality zone for anti-personnel and area denial operations

Additional Features

• Equipped with advanced guidance and navigation systems for high precision targeting
• Modular warhead configuration enables flexibility in targeting a wide spectrum of threats

Significance

Acts as a crucial component of India’s proposed Rocket Force, a tri-services integrated missile command aimed at strengthening India’s conventional deterrence capabilities.

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