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karatecatman · Guest

www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200901181531.htm
India plans to use laser weapons in Ballistic Missile Defence
New Delhi (PTI): India is planning to develop a laser based weapon system as part of its Ballistic Missile Defence to intercept and destroy missiles soon after they are launched towards the country.

"If you have a laser based system on an airborne or seaborne platform, it can travel at the speed of light and in a few seconds, we can kill a ballistic missile coming towards us," DRDO's Air Defence Programme Director V K Saraswat told PTI here.

He said the laser based interceptor will give "more time" to the BMD system to kill ballistic missile launched from a distance of 2000 kms.

"Suppose if the missile is being launched at Indian target from 2000 km. If I have to kill it there, I will have to travel that distance, which will require many minutes to be there. If you have a laser system travelling at a speed of light, it can kill that missile in its boost phase (just after launch) even before it has travelled a few 100 kilometers," Saraswat, who is Chief Controller R&D, said.

A ballistic missile take-off has three segments. When launched, it is called boost phase, and followed by the mid course when it reaches the highest point of its trajectory and lastly the terminal phase when it is coming close to the target on ground.

Saraswat said its ideal to destroy a ballistic missile carrying nuclear or conventional warhead in its boost phase.

"It's easier to kill a missile in boost phase as it has not gained much speed and is easier to target. It cannot deploy any countermeasures and it is vulnerable at that time," Saraswat said.

The distinguished scientist stated that DRDO laboratories like The Laser and Science Technology Centre (LASTEC) was also developing such technologies.

"In LASTEC, we are developing many of these technologies. We have to package these technologies on aircraft like the Americans have done on their systems," he added.

Saraswat added that it will take another 10-15 years for the premier defence research institute to make it usable on ground.

"It is an involved process and not just about producing lasers. We have to put in many systems like the surveillance and tracking systems together for such a system to work. It will take another 10-15 years before we talk of integrating all these elements," he said.

vivekman · Member Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 1897 Location: BOM

Although a laser-based system looks and sounds really cool, there are a few questions to be answered before such a system sees light of day:

1) Do we have the technology to perfect such a system? If one looks at most other DRDO projects, cost, budget and schedule overruns are common. The article states a time-frame of 10-15 years. Realistically, it won't become operational before 2030 or thereabouts. Ballistic missiles would have become obsolete by then (or atleast close to obsolete)

2) How much would such a system cost? Is it cost-effective for India?

3) The article talks about missiles launched from 2000km away. But Pakistan is not even 500km away. The flying time of ballistic missiles launched from Pakistan towards an Indian city is only a few minutes. How effective is such a system against such a threat?

4) Also, such systems are effective only against ballistic missiles. What about cruise missiles that fly quite low and are very difficult to detect on radar? Pakistan already has the "Babur" cruise missile which is nuclear capable.

- Vivek
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