Govt Approves Induction of Nuclear-Capable ‘Shaurya’ Missile

The Indian government has approved the induction and deployment of ‘Shaurya’ which is a surface-to-surface strategic missile with a 700-kilometre range. The missile is the land version of the submarine-launched BA-05 missile that been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The land version of the missile was recently tested from a defence facility off the Odisha coast and also possesses the capability to carry a nuclear warhead.

Shaurya is about 10 metres long with a diameter of 0.74 metres and weighs 160 kilograms.

The induction comes at a time when there is a lot of cross-border tension between India and China.

Also, on 30 September, India successfully test-fired an extended-range supersonic cruise missile BrahMos with an indigenous booster from a test facility off the Odisha coast, with a range of around 400 km.

Shaurya is capable of flying at a supersonic speed of Mach 7 (2.4 km per sec) at an altitude of 50 km within the atmosphere. It hits the designated target at Mach 4 speed.

The missile will soon be deployed at strategic points marked by National Security Council.

While the missile is truly capable of being launched using a single land vehicle, the DRDO is also currently working on a submarine version of Shaurya that’s capable of travelling 5,000 km.

Dubbed the K-5, the missile will be deployed on Arihant class of nuclear submarines.

While scientists are hush-hush about the K-5 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), it is expected to be completed in the next 15 months and then deployed on the 6,000-tonne Arihant class of SSBN submarines.

The fact that Indian has been pushing for the testing of its arsenal is a clear sign that it’s sending a message to its adversaries that it will not cow down to any coercion. It is expected that the 800-km range Nirbhay missile will also be tested in the coming days and later be inducted into the Indian Army or the Navy.