The Hindu : Successful Trishul tests boost DRDO

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 21, 2003

National

National

Successful Trishul tests boost DRDO

By T.S. Subramanian

Chennai Dec. 20. The successful firing of Trishul, surface-to-air missile, on December 18 and 19 from Balasore, Orissa, is a shot in the arm for the Defence Research and Development Organisation. For although it is 18 years since Trishul was first flight-tested in 1985 and more than 65 developmental flights have taken place, it has not become operational yet. A host of complex technologies troubled it and hence none of the three armed forces was able to induct Trishul. The mood is upbeat in the DRDO now because the problems have been sorted out.

Trishul is a fast-moving, multi-role, surface-to-air missile having a range of nine km and with a capability for quick reaction. It is powered by solid propellants, guided by radars and can be launched from the ground to destroy low-flying helicopters and aircraft flying at an altitude. It can be launched from aircraft or ships and the Naval version has a sea-skimming role as well, useful for engaging the enemy's anti-ship missile. All this adds to its complexity.

Although Trishul was tested in its sea-skimming role and was successful, the technology needed to be fine-tuned. This took time. The Army and the Navy were unable to wait and they imported the Barak missiles from Israel as a substitute. Reports appeared in the media that the Trishul project had been shelved and that the missile had come a cropper.

The DRDO went back to work on Trishul and it was converted into a technology demonstrator. The various technological snags were identified and corrective measures introduced in the missile's command guidance system to engage a target. Design improvements too were made.

Later, Trishul was launched four times in the middle of this year and all the four flights were successful. ``There was consistent engagement of the targets in all the four flights. This showed that the design as a whole — the missile system, the ground system and the interfaces — was proved. This will pave the way for more tests with user participation,'' a DRDO source then said.

Trishul was launched again on December 18 and 19, and more flights will follow during the next two weeks. Top Air Force brass will witness these flights and they are reportedly keen on the current series of test-flights. Informed sources said that since the Air Force had not committed any funds in importing a missile equivalent, it could be Trishul's first user. On December 19, Trishul, with an upgraded guidance system, was launched from a mobile launcher from the Interim-Test-Range at Balasore. The missile was directed at a moving object. It had an upgraded guidance system.

The Navy's missile frigate INS Brahmaputra, which was commissioned in April 2002, was reportedly designed to accommodate Trishul. But the delay in declaring the missile operational led to the Navy fitting the frigate with the Barak. INS Brahmaputra without the indigenous Trishul was called ``a rhino without a horn.''

A former DRDO missile scientist said: ``we might have taken 18 years to fine-tune Trishul's technology but we gained a lot of experience and insight.''Trishul forms part of the country's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), which was sanctioned on July 26, 1983.

The centrepiece of the IGMDP is the Agni series of surface-to-surface missiles.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National