| Country: |
India |
| Class: |
SRBM or SLBM |
| Basing: |
Ship or submarine launched |
| Length: |
9.00 m |
| Diameter: |
1.00 m |
| Launch Weight: |
4000 kg |
| Payload: |
Single warhead, 500 kg |
| Warhead: |
nuclear, HE, submunitions |
| Propulsion: |
Single-stage liquid |
| Range: |
250 km |
| Status: |
Development |
Details
The Dhanush is a short-range, sea-based, liquid-propellant ballistic missile thought to be a variant of either the Prithvi-1 or Prithvi-2. According to unconfirmed reports, India developed the missile with European assistance, and its motor and guidance system were based on the Russian S-75 Guideline surface-to-air missile.
In its current configuration, the Dhanush variant is 9.0 m in length, 1.1 m in diameter, and weighs between 4,000 and 4,600 kg. It uses a single-stage, liquid-propellant engine, giving it a maximum range of 250 km (155 miles) with an accuracy of 50 m CEP. Its payload is a single warhead weighing up to 500 kg, only half as much as the Prithvi-1, which has a 1,000 kg payload.
The missile's warheads are nuclear, high-explosive, or submunitions. The missile can also be equipped with multiple payloads, to be dispensed by the missile during its flight. The use of high-explosive and submunition warheads enables the Dhanush to be used against airfields, manufacturing complexes, and military units, as well as enemy ships.
The deployment of Dhanush ballistic missiles as a sea-borne force will have little effect on the nuclear balance between India and Pakistan, as all of Pakistan is already vulnerable to the Indian hidden road-mobile systems. However, the Dhanush will dramatically increase the number of targets that India can strike within China, thereby significantly increasing the strength of India's deterrent force.(1)
The Dhanush program may have been used as a technology demonstrator for the Prithvi-3. The two missiles use the same launching mechanism. The Dhanush ship-launched version was first tested in April 2000, then again in December 2000, September 2001, November 2004, Decembr 2005, January 2006, and April 2007.(2)
Footnotes
- Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 42 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2005), 85-87; Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 46 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2007), 53-56; Andrew Koch, “India Moves Closer to Sea-launched Ballistic Missile,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, 10 November 2004; GlobalSecurity.org, “Sagarika/Dhanush,” available at http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/india/sagarika.htm, accessed on 19 May 2005.
- Rahal Bedi, “India Is Set For Dhanush Trials,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, 2 February 2000; “Crash Ends Maiden Flight of India’s Dhanush Missile,” Jane’s Missiles and Rockets, 1 June 2000.
India Fires Dhanush
January 1, 2006 :: Forbes :: News
India test-launched its short-range Dhanush ballistic missile on December 28, reports the Press Trust of India. The missile was launched from a warship in the Bay of Bengal off the eastern coast. The Dhanush, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, is the naval version of surface-to-surface Prithvi missile. It has a range of 250 kilometers and can carry a payload of 500 kilograms. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: India, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: Dhanush
India Again Launches Dhanush Missile
November 8, 2004 :: RIA-Novosti :: News
India yesterday successfully tested a nuclear-capable ship-launched missile from its eastern coast. The Dhanush missile was launched from a ship in the Bay of Bengal. (More »»»)
» Press release, Govt. of India
» AFP on Dhanush launch
» More stories on: India, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: Dhanush
India Tests Underwater-Launched Missile
October 27, 2004 :: News
India today tested a naval variant of a nuclear capable ballistic missile with a range of 300km. The missile tested has been identified by news sources as a “Prithvi III,” and is said to be the longest range Prithvi tested thus far.
The missile’s characteristics, however, seem to indicate that it is more likely the missile known as the Dhanush, which itself had been derived from the Prithvi II. The missile launched today is said to have previously been launched from a ship, which is also true of the Dhanush.
The missile is also said to have the capability to be launched from a submarine. Today’s launch reportedly took place from a specially constructed underwater platform and canister, from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, in the eastern coast state of Orissa, some 230km from the city of Bhubaneswar. The missile landed in the Bay of Bengal.
Indian and Western news services variously report that the missile consists of a single stage, and the missile reportedly has a length of 8.5 meters (28 ft) and a diameter of 1 meter. While it is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead—described by some reports as “sub kiloton”—it may also carry incendiary or fragmentary munitions. Each of these dimensions and capabilities roughly correspond to those previously assigned to the Dhanush missile. The dimensions of the missile called the “Prithvi III” are not known. The missile may indeed never have been completed.
It would appear that India may have applied the signification Prithvi III to the missile previously termed Dhanush, or that the news reports are simply inaccurate.
That the missile tested is in fact the Dhanush is also suggested by an October 9 report by India’s The Statesman, that such a test was planned. (Link)
» Oct. 9: Dhanush trial expected soon
» More stories on: India, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: Dhanush, Prithvi-2, Prithvi-3
India Pursuing Blue Water Navy, Ballistic Missile Sub
June 7, 2004 :: Defense News :: News
India has the ambition to join the other great powers of the world in having a blue water ballistic missile submarines, according to a story in Defense News. India’s recent adoption of a new military doctrine aimed at the acquisition of such vessels could help to counterbalance China’s own military buildup, detailed in the DoD report released last week. India is already planning to lease a Russian Akula-class sub, but will soon develop its own vessels.
The report does not specify what sort of ballistic missiles an Indian submarine may carry, but one sea launched ballistic missile India has been working on is the Dhanush. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: India
» Missile details: Dhanush
