After the failure of the Nirbhay cruise missile test, DRDO achieved a textbook success on June 15 when it conducted the first successful test launch of the Indian version of the US Tomahawk subsonic cruise missile from ITR, Chandipur in Odisha. The yet-to-be-named Long-Range Land-Attack Cruise Missile (LRLACM) hit the target at a distance of 1,000 km with all previous problems resolved.
The cruise missile, which can be launched from multiple platforms, is a successor to the failed Nirbhay missile but with a greater range and other guidance improvements, state officials said. It is understood that the missile will undergo two more development trials, then two more use trials in the next two years before being inducted into the Indian Armed Forces.
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While the DRDO press release was economical with information, the Mach 0.8 cruise missile is a much-needed weapon for hitting targets above 1,000 km at ground-skimming altitudes. The missile represents a challenge to enemy radars as it cannot be detected because it flies at a low altitude and carries a warhead that weighs 500 kg and destroys the target.
While since 2010, Pakistan has possessed a cruise missile with a range of up to 900 kilometers bearing the name of the Islamic conqueror Babur, China possesses a group of conventional and nuclear cruise missiles. The Pakistani weapon was modeled from an unexploded Tomahawk missile recovered from a 1998 US strike against the Al Qaeda terrorist camp in Khost, Afghanistan. Pakistan received full technical support from China to develop Babur and in return received American Tomahawk technology.
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With long-range weapons becoming the feature of battle these days, India needs to upgrade its conventional missiles with long-range ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. These conventional ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and missiles will be part of the Army’s missile regiments to counter the PLA’s missile capability in worst-case scenarios.
