Pune:The premier Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) unit High Energy Materials Research Laboratory
(HEMRL) in Pune has developed a solid propellant booster of the BrahMos
supersonic cruise missile, which was successfully fired for the first time from
a Sukhoi — 30MKI fighter jet in the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday morning.
“A BrahMos missile operates in two stages. In the first
stage, a solid propellant booster pushes the missile to supersonic speeds and
then separates. Thereafter, the second stage kicks in where a liquid fuel
ramjet engine takes it to speeds up to mach 3 (three times the speed of
sound),” a senior DRDO scientist said, explaining the significance of the
booster.
Senior HEMRL authorities have said that the indigenously
developed, cost-effective propellant booster will soon be inducted in the
missile, and will help save a significant amount of money. As of now, India
imports the boosters from Russia. HEMRL director K P S Murthy told TOIon
Thursday, “We have developed the solid propellant booster, a key component of
the BrahMos missile, and carried out the requisite tests recently. The results
were positive and have been evaluated by the Russian experts. A final test,
which relates to mechanical vibration, will be carried out in December to pave
the way for the induction.”
The BrahMos missile is developed and manufactured by BrahMos
Aerospace Private Limited, a joint venture between the DRDO and Russia’s
Reutov-based rocket and missile developers NPO Mashinostroyeniya (NPOM). “After
completing the final test, through transfer of technology (ToT), the booster
can be manufactured either by an ordnance factory board (OFB) factory or
private manufacturers. Currently, India imports the booster from Russia, which
is anh expensive affair,” a senior DRDO scientist working on the project said.
DRDO sources added that, in the past, they had requested
their Russian counterparts to transfer the booster technology, but in vain. “It
was important to develop an indigenous booster to avoid a further rise in cost.
The HEMRL lab, which has expertise in the field, was assigned the task of
developing the booster,” added another senior DRDO scientist.
HEMRL is a pioneer for research and development on energetic
materials for defence applications. Many technologies have been successfully
developed since its inception, as well as deployed in the production of
military arsenals. Over the last five years, the laboratory has developed
technologies such as pyro cartridges, amorphous boron powder, reduced
sensitivity RDX, among others. A number of developed technologies have been
transferred to the private sector.
Source: THE TIMES OF INDIA-24th November,2017
