The successful test of Agni III on May 7, 2008 from the Wheeler island, off the Orissa Coast propelled India into a select group of countries such as Russia, the US, France and China with the intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) capability. Ballistics is the science that deals with the motion, behavior, and effects of projectiles, especially bullets fired from rifles, bombs dropped from aircraft, and of course missiles.
A missile consists of two main parts. First is the payload which could be a traditional or a nuclear bomb and second, a rocket to drop it at the desired location with or without the help of a guidance system. A ballistic missile is a missile, with a rocket engine, which follows a parabolic (arch like), flight path with the objective of delivering a warhead to particular target. Ballistic missiles cover great distances. They need to carry large amounts of propelling fuel in the rocket to reach the desired speed and altitude for a long flight. In fact, nearly 90 per cent of the weight of a ballistic missile may be the fuel. As a result, ballistic missiles are the largest and heaviest of all missiles. The technology for launching satellites or dropping bombs, through rockets is very similar. The difference is in the speed developed by the rocket.
The development of ballistic missiles is in essence the development of rocketry. The invention of the rocket is generally ascribed to the Chinese before 1000 AD. Tipu Sultan of Mysore had developed rockets for use in war and used them effectively against the English forces. After his defeat, they seized his rockets and took them to England for further development. Tipu’s contribution to rocket technology is acknowledged all over the world.
As long as the world is constituted as it is, every country will have to devise and use the latest devices for its protection. India’s research in modern rocketry began after achieving independence, Indian scientists as well as political leaders recognized the potential of rocket technology for space applications. In the early days India’s research in rocketry was directed to develop indigenous satellite launch capabilities. As there were some problems about uses of rockets to launch satellites and their possible use in developing ballistic missiles for country’s defense the Government of India started India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) under DRDO, in 1983 involving more than 60 public and private organizations.
The development of ballistic missiles in India is linked with our former President Dr APJ Kalam. In 1962, Dr Kalam moved to the Indian Space Research Organization (1SRO), where his team successfully launched several satellites. All through his association with ISRO, Kalam had been interested in missile systems, studying the essential differences between launch vehicles and missiles. In 1982, Kalam returned to the DRDO as Director, focusing on development of indigenous missiles. Kalam and his assistant R N Agarwal were responsible for the development and operational success of the ballistic missiles mentioned above in India. Further work on ballistic missile is being carried out by scientists and engineers like Avinash Chander, V K Saraswat and Mrs Tessy Thomas, working at Advanced System Laboratory under DRDO.