Previously referred to as New Generation Anti-Radiation Missile (NGARM), Rudram-1 is an Anti-Radiation Missile (ARM) developed by Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and marks a significant development. Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL) is the primary agency which carried out the design and development of the missile system along with Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE), Defence Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL), High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Research Centre Imarat (RCI) and Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL). Software Development Institute of the Indian Air Force (IAF) helped in the integration of the ARM with Sukhoi Su-30MKI while the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Nasik Division, did the AKU-58 launcher modification which undertook extensive wind-tunnel tests at National Trisonic Aerodynamic Facilities (NTAF) division of National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL). Meant for Suppression of Enemy Air Defences/Destruction of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD/DEAD) roles, the missile can be launched from large stand-off distances to target enemy surveillance and Fire Control (FC) radars, hostile emitters and communication systems thus creating a surveillance gap in the enemy territory. The missile is comparable to the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) that can engage re-locatable Integrated Air Defence Systems (IADS) targets and other targets equipped with shutdown capability. On 9 October 2020 India successfully test-fired a Rudram 1 ARM at the Interim Test Range (ITR) Balasore, off the coast of Odisha in the Bay of Bengal which fulfilled all required mission parameters.
The production of the Rudram-1 will be undertaken by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). Rudram-1 has a range of 100 to 250-km, can be launched from a height ranging from 500-meters to 15-km and is presently integrated with Indian Air Force (IAF) Sukhoi Su-30MKI as its primary test platform, although can be integrated with Dassault Mirage 2000 I/TI, Dassault Rafale, SEPECAT Jaguar and HAL Tejas. According to DRDO, the missile will feature a millimetre wave (mmW) Active Radar Homing (ARH) seeker transmitting on frequencies of 30 Gigahertz (GHz) and above while capable of Lock-On Before Launch (LOBL) and Lock-On After Launch (LOAL) modes. Mid-course guidance is accomplished through Inertial Navigation System (INS) combined with GPS/NavIC satellite guidance through digital filtering as fall back to correct accumulated errors. Finally, the broadband Passive Homing Head (PHH) seeker developed by DLRL can detect radio frequency emissions from 100-km away and operating within D-band to J-band frequency of the electromagnetic spectrum. Its compact front-end structure is due to the use of Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) technology for identification of radiation emitting sources.
The missile is a single-stage, approximately 5.5-metre in length and weighs 600-kg with cruciform wing surface to increase high manoeuvrability and to give constant aerodynamic characteristics similar to Astra Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM). It uses 60-kg pre-fragmented warhead with optical proximity fuze and is powered by a dual-pulsed solid rocket motor made by Premier Explosives Limited (PEL) under technology transfer from DRDO. The dual-pulsed solid rocket motor produces variable thrust within a range of Mach 0.6 to Mach 2 that reduces the overall reaction time while widening the targeting envelope as well as the engagement capability.
Sayan Majumdar