The Paper's special contributor Wang Ruohong
Recently, India's National Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) said that it is ready to improve the development of a new long-range air-to-air missile on the basis of THE STAR supersonic target missile, which will be used to attack the enemy's airborne early warning command aircraft and large special aircraft such as aerial refueling tankers.
India's Defence Research and Development Organisation believes that this new long-range air-to-air missile will be cheaper than the planned new generation of "Astra" Mk3 long-range air-to-air missiles, and the combat effectiveness can also meet the requirements of attacking long-distance slow-flying targets.
Air-launched BrahMos cruise missile.
From "BrahMos" to STAR supersonic target bombs
In fact, this is not the first time that the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation has proposed the development of long-range air-to-air missiles aimed at striking enemy airborne early warning command aircraft. In 2020, India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (BDSA) exhibited an anti-AWACS ultra-long-range air-to-air missile model based on the Brah Mos air-launched supersonic cruise missile at the Defence Exhibition.
According to the vision of the Indian Defence Research and Development Organization, this new ultra-long-range air-to-air missile will basically maintain the design layout of the "Brah Mos" air-launched supersonic cruise missile, so its launch weight may be comparable to the latter, reaching a staggering 2.5 tons. That weight is more than three times that of the Russian KS-172, the world's heaviest publicly known ultra-long-range air-to-air missile. In addition, in order to meet the requirements of striking air targets, especially in view of the characteristics of the air early warning command aircraft itself to emit high-power electromagnetic waves, the "Brah Mos" ultra-long-range air-to-air missile will also increase the passive anti-radiation guidance mode in addition to the active radar guidance and infrared thermal imaging guidance in the seeker design.
Pakistan is equipped with ZDK-03 early warning aircraft.
In terms of warhead design, the "BrahMos" air-launched supersonic cruise missile originally used a high-explosive or semi-armor-piercing warhead of 200 to 300 kg, mainly for attacking ground and ship targets. Then, if used to strike air targets, the BrahMos ultra-long-range air-to-air missile will likely be equipped with high-explosive discs or continuous rod warheads. And there is no need to use a warhead as heavy as 200 to 300 kilograms. In fact, the longest-range R-37M heavy air-to-air missile in service of the Russian Air-Space Force has a total warhead weight of 60 kg, which is already the largest in the world. Therefore, the total warhead weight of the "BrahMos" ultra-long-range air-to-air missile may also be reduced to the level of 50 to 60 kg.
After reducing the weight of the warhead, it is also conducive to the "BrahMos" ultra-long-range air-to-air missile to further increase the range. India's Defence Research and Development Organisation claims that the maximum range of the missile will exceed 350 kilometers, and according to the Russian manager of the Russian-Indian joint venture Brahmos Aerospace Company, its maximum range will even reach 500 kilometers. The maximum flight speed of the BrahMos ultra-long-range air-to-air missile will also be comparable to that of the air-launched supersonic cruise missile, which is expected to be around Mach 3.
Indian Su-30MKI is envisaged for launching a long-range air-to-air missile.
From the perspective of technology research and development, the "BrahMos" air-launched supersonic cruise missile of the same level has been developed based on the ultra-long-range air-to-air missile, and the difficulty and risk are basically controllable, and there is no big problem in realizing it. However, from the perspective of actual combat, this idea is very unreliable. First of all, the "BrahMos" ultra-long-range air-to-air missile is too heavy and too large, reaching a length of 8.4 meters, and only the Su-30MKI active in service of the Indian Air Force can be mounted on the midline of the belly after being reinforced. Moreover, due to cost and difficulty, the Indian Air Force plans to modify only more than 40 Su-30MKIs. This greatly limits the number of launch platforms for the Brah Mos ultra-long-range air-to-air missile.
Secondly, the "BrahMos" air-launched supersonic cruise missile is designed for the purpose of attacking fixed targets on the ground and ships at sea, and if its aerodynamic layout is modified into an ultra-long-range air-to-air missile, it may be difficult to meet the requirements of attacking air mobile targets in terms of maneuverability. Moreover, the airborne early warning command aircraft can find the "big man" of the "BrahMos" air-launched supersonic cruise missile hundreds of kilometers away, although its flight speed is slow and it is not as mobile and flexible as a fighter, but it can also carry out a certain degree of evasion maneuvering. In fact, other countries have used anti-air missiles to convert into air-to-air missiles, such as Iran's US-made "Hawker" air defense missile mounted on F-14 fighter jets as air-to-air missiles, and the aforementioned Russian KS-172 ultra-long-range air-to-air missiles can also be regarded as an air-launched version of the "Beech" air defense missile. These anti-aircraft missiles themselves have a strong maneuverability, and they are also qualified for conversion into air-to-air missiles. However, the transformation of air-launched supersonic cruise missiles into air-to-air missiles can only be said to be too big for the Indians to open this "brain hole".
Finally, the key point is that India's Defence Research and Development Organization itself has not converted the Brah Mos air-launched supersonic cruise missile into an air-to-air missile capability, while Brah Mos Aerospace is mainly responsible for missile production, and the only thing that can really accomplish this task is the Russian NPOM Design Bureau. Then, as long as the Indian side puts forward the idea of the "Brah Moss" ultra-long-range air-to-air missile, the Russian side has an excuse to let the former take out a lot of "real money and silver" again.
Therefore, at present, the Attitude of the Russian side towards promoting the "BrahMos" ultra-long-range air-to-air missile project is very positive, and even optimistic that the development task can be completed in 2024. However, India's Defence Research and Development Organization clearly does not want to be completely subject to the Russian side, but is ready to develop another completely "domestic" ultra-long-range air-to-air missile at the same time.
The KS-172 long-range air-to-air missile developed by Russia, but it is not equipped with troops.
Target missiles improved to air-to-air missiles
Similar to the development of the BrahMos ultra-long-range air-to-air missile, India's Defence Research and Development Organization is preparing to develop its own ultra-long-range air-to-air missile based on the STAR supersonic target missile that is still in the research and development stage. This kind of one-shot multi-type thinking is mainly to reduce the risk of development and save money.
For the STAR supersonic target missile, the information that can be obtained by the outside world is still relatively small, so it is more mysterious in many Indian domestic missile research and development programs. As can be seen from the CG drawing of the design scheme of the missile, its shape design is similar to the Chinese HD-1 supersonic cruise missile that debuted at the 2021 Zhuhai Air Show, except that the head cone fairing is not as slender and sharp as the HD-1. Like the HD-1, the STAR supersonic target ammunition features a cylindrical projectile body, slender trapezoidal intakes, and a four-piece rudder.
In addition to the shape design, the star supersonic target missile and the HD-1 supersonic cruise missile are still relatively different in other aspects. For example, on the power unit, the HD-1 supersonic cruise missile uses a solid-fuel ramjet engine, while the STAR supersonic target missile uses a liquid-fueled ramjet engine. These two types of ramjet engines have their own advantages: solid fuel ramjet engines can be stored for a long time, good safety, high fuel density, simple structure, small size, low cost, and high reliability; The liquid fuel ramjet engine is higher than the punch, the fuel flow is adjustable, the range is longer, but the structure is more complex, the fuel storage has time limits, and the safety is poor.
India's "Shen Bing" medium-range air-to-air missile.
From a worldwide perspective, the British "Meteor" air-to-air missile and the Russian Kh-31 anti-ship missile and other short-range missiles with a range of about 100 kilometers use solid fuel ramjet engines, while the Russian SS-N-22 anti-ship missile, China's CM-302 anti-ship missile and the "BrahMos" supersonic cruise missile and other large missiles with a range of more than 200 kilometers use liquid fuel ramjet engines. However, with the development of technology, China's HD-1 supersonic cruise missile and Japan's ASM-3 supersonic anti-ship missile, which has a range of more than 200 kilometers, have also used solid-fuel ramjet engines.
In this regard, it should be said that the STAR supersonic target bomb is a special case. The projectile has a range of 55 to 175 kilometers, but uses a more complex liquid fuel ramjet engine. Moreover, india's Defence Research and Development Organisation (OBU) claims that its stockpile life is 10 years, which is questionable. General aviation kerosene fuel storage is only valid for a maximum of 1 year. India has not announced the overall dimensions of the STAR supersonic target missile, if the HD-1 supersonic cruise missile as a reference, its bullet length should be about 5 meters, the total weight should be less than 1 ton, about 800 kg is more suitable. In this way, the bomb can be mounted and fired by light fighters such as the Tejas. Moreover, its radar reflection cross-sectional area is 0.2 to 1.9 square meters, which can basically be regarded as a quasi-stealth missile.
STAR supersonic target bomb.
The killer of the Radiance light fighter?
Overall, the STAR supersonic target missile is much smaller than the BrahMos air-launched supersonic cruise missile, and since the Tejas light fighter can be mounted, so can other larger fighters of the Indian Air Force, so there will be more launch platforms. In addition, the STAR supersonic target missile simulates the world's most advanced anti-ship missile and performs maneuvering flight, so its maneuverability should be superior to the BrahMos air-launched supersonic cruise missile. Of course, in terms of size and weight, the STAR supersonic target missile is still too big to transform into an air-to-air missile. Therefore, in the future, we will continue to observe whether the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization will continue to maintain the shape layout of the STAR supersonic target bomb or carry out a comprehensive overhaul.
In addition, the STAR supersonic target bomb is still under development, and it is expected that the prototype will be produced and tested later this year. Therefore, even if the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization carries out the research and development of the STAR air-to-air missile at the same time, its completion time may not be earlier than the "BrahMos" ultra-long-range air-to-air missile. In the future, the Indian Air Force plans to use the STAR air-to-air missile as one of the "killer tools" of the Tejar Mk1A and Mk2 fighters, and its target is obviously the ZDK-03 and Saber-2000 early warning aircraft active in service by the Pakistan Air Force. However, with the batch equipment of the most advanced J-10CE fighters, it is feared that the Indian Air Force's "Tejas" Mk1A/Mk2 fighter jets will have a significant increase in the difficulty of attacking the Pakistan Air Force's early warning aircraft.
Responsible Editor: Xie Ruiqiang Photo Editor: Shi Jiahui
Proofreader: Luan Meng