By General MM Naravane (r)
Every conflict throws up new challenges in keeping with the changing character of war. From time immemorial, the endeavour has always been to strike at the opposing force as far away as possible with increasing accuracy. Direct fires gave way to indirect fires, with the development of mortars and long-range artillery. Ranges of artillery, though, remained limited due to technological and tactical issues. This led to the development of rocket artillery. While the ranges of artillery gun systems remain around the 50 km mark, even with the most advanced ammunition, rocket artillery systems have surpassed this mark with ease.
More and more armies the world over are inducting rocket artillery systems into the field and using them to devastating effect, as amply demonstrated by the HIMARS in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, even these have the inherent drawback of being area weapons with limited accuracy. Hence the need to have a missile force which combines both enhanced ranges as well as accuracy. Missiles can be both nuclear or conventional, although both would have ballistic trajectories. This results in a characteristic dilemma in that at launch, it is not possible to discern what kind of missile has been launched. This drawback and ambiguity can be eliminated by having Cruise Missiles, which can be launched from land, sea, or air. Thus, while being able to strike at targets in depth with pinpoint accuracy, it removes the uncertainty behind a conventional missile launch and the chances of miscalculation.
In the Indian context, the BrahMos Missile System occupies this critical space. It is a joint venture between the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Russian Federation’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya, who together have formed BrahMos Aerospace. The name BrahMos is a combination formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. Developed as a joint venture with Russia, it has had its share of teething troubles, but these have been addressed, and the system has now stabilised. First inducted into the Indian Army in 2007, it is now in service with the Air Force and Navy, too.
I have had the occasion to witness the training launches of the BrahMos on two occasions, the first as the GOC, 2 Corps and the second time as the GOC-in-C, Eastern Command. Both events were interesting and had their own lessons to be learnt, both for the crew manning the system as well as for us, the officers who would be responsible for its employment. Both are worth going into detail.
On the first occasion, all the equipment had to be moved from Ambala to the Andamans by air. Though this would not always be required in wartime, it nevertheless demonstrated its air-portability and gave much-needed experience to the Regiment on this aspect. The designated target area for all missile launches is Trak Island, approximately 200km south of the launch point. Prior to the launch, a nominated party goes to the target area, and puts up monitoring cameras and marker flags, with a cross at the centre to mark the target. They also take the GPS coordinates of the target, which are then fed into the system. The route is also fed with one or two waypoints.
All this was done in a routine manner. Over a period of time, the target area on the island, waypoints, etc, had become standardised, thus lessening the training value, and becoming more like a technical and reliability check of the system. Two missiles were fired, one a training missile which hit the target dead-centre. The combat missile, however, missed its mark, not even landing on the island, though the sound of the splash of its fall was recorded by the cameras, so it didn’t miss by much. This is important because when fired in the dive mode at, say, an enemy concentration area of 25 sq km, as long as the missile falls within its CEP, it is good enough. It is only when fired in seeker mode that it is absolutely essential that it hits the target dead-on.
On the second occasion, I was a bit wiser. I made sure that the launch was carried out under more realistic conditions. For one, the Mobile Command Post (MCP) did not move but remained behind– near Guwahati– to simulate a remote launch. Also, while a party went to mark the target area, they were not allowed to take its coordinates. To obviate using old data, the target area was also switched from one end of the island to the other. After all, in wartime, the enemy is not going to give you the target coordinates. The routing was also changed from the traditional two legs to a more complicated one.
In short, the exercise was made as difficult as possible. Once again, two missiles were launched, and this time, both hit the target. The missiles performed better than our best expectations. I was prepared for a failure but remembered what our former President, Late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam had to say, “Do not read success stories, you will only get a message. Read failure stories, you will get lessons to succeed.” I think we learnt our lessons well.
The BrahMos Missile System has come of age and is an essential force multiplier in our arsenal. With ranges between 400-800 km, it fills the vital space between conventional / rocket artillery and conventional ballistic missiles. Being a cruise missile, it is less prone to interception and, therefore, more likely to hit the target. Its range also gets enhanced in the sea, and air-launched mode, making it one of the most versatile missiles available in the world today.
Gen. MM Naravane (r) is a former Indian Army Chief
