Science & Technology Quiz: Missile Systems of India

The correct answer is B, 1983. The Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, usually written IGMDP, was approved in 1983 and placed under the Defence Research and Development Organisation, with A. P. J. Abdul Kalam as its head. Its aim was to build five missiles together rather than one after another, and the programme was formally declared complete in 2008.

Option A, 1974, is the year of Pokhran-I, the peaceful nuclear explosion codenamed Smiling Buddha, which candidates often bring here. Option C, 1991, is remembered for economic liberalisation, not for missiles. Option D, 1998, is the year of Pokhran-II, the series of nuclear tests at Pokhran under Operation Shakti, and it is the commonest wrong choice because the same period saw Agni tests. Only 1983 belongs to the IGMDP.

The correct answer is C, BrahMos. The five missiles of the IGMDP were Prithvi, Agni, Trishul, Akash and Nag. BrahMos came later and from a different route altogether, as a joint venture between India and Russia, and it is a supersonic cruise missile, while the IGMDP produced ballistic and guided missiles of Indian design.

Option A, Trishul, was the short-range surface-to-air missile of the programme, and the project was later closed. Option B, Nag, is the third generation fire and forget anti-tank guided missile of the programme, carried on the NAMICA vehicle. Option D, Akash, is the medium-range surface-to-air missile with a ramjet engine that is now in service with the Army and the Air Force. All three belong to the original five, so BrahMos is the odd one out.

The correct answer is A, Brahmaputra and Moskva. BrahMos is built by a joint venture of India and Russia, and its name joins the Brahmaputra of India with the Moskva of Russia to mark the partnership. It is a supersonic cruise missile that flies at close to three times the speed of sound and can be launched from land, from ships, from submarines and from aircraft, the air-launched version being carried by the Su-30MKI.

Option B names the Volga, which is Russia's longest river but not the one in the missile's name. Option C replaces the Brahmaputra with the Beas, one of the five rivers of Punjab. Option D names the Danube, which flows through central and eastern Europe and has no connection with the project. The pairing to remember is Brahmaputra with Moskva.

The correct answer is B, anti-tank guided missile. Nag is a third generation anti-tank guided missile of the fire and forget kind, which means the operator can leave cover once the missile has locked on to the target. It is carried on a tracked vehicle called the NAMICA, short for Nag Missile Carrier, and its helicopter-launched versions are known as Helina and Dhruvastra.

Option A describes Akash, Trishul and the Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile, which engage aircraft. Option C describes Astra, India's beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile carried by the Su-30MKI and the Tejas. Option D describes the Agni-V class, with a range beyond five thousand kilometres. All four categories exist in the Indian inventory, so the question tests whether the name has been tied to the right role.

The correct answer is A, medium-range surface-to-air missile. Akash was one of the five missiles of the IGMDP and is meant to destroy aircraft and helicopters at medium range. It is notable for using a ramjet engine, which lets it keep thrust through the flight, and it works with the Rajendra phased array radar. Both the Army and the Air Force use it, and an export version has been cleared by the government.

Option B describes the K series, the K-15 or Sagarika and the K-4, built for the Arihant class of submarines. Option C describes Rudram, the air-launched missile that homes in on enemy radars. Option D describes Nirbhay, the long-range cruise missile powered by a turbofan engine. Each is a real Indian system, so the answer turns on the role of Akash as an air defence missile.

The correct answer is B, beyond-visual-range air-to-air. Astra is fired from a fighter aircraft at another aircraft that is still beyond the pilot's sight, which is what beyond visual range means, and it uses an active radar seeker in its final phase. It is integrated on the Su-30MKI and on the Tejas light combat aircraft, and it replaces imported missiles of the same class.

Option A, surface-to-surface, describes Prithvi, Agni, Prahaar and Pralay. Option C, anti-tank, describes Nag with its NAMICA carrier and its helicopter versions Helina and Dhruvastra. Option D, anti-ship, describes the naval role of BrahMos and of the Sea Eagle class of weapons. The word Astra, meaning a weapon that is thrown, is easy to confuse with the others, so fix it in memory as the air-to-air missile.

The correct answer is D, more than five thousand kilometres. Agni-V is a three-stage solid-fuelled missile with a range beyond five thousand kilometres, which places it in the intercontinental ballistic missile class. It is canisterised, so it is stored in and launched from a sealed canister that can be carried by road or rail, which cuts the time needed to make it ready, and it has been tested with multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle technology under the mission named Divyastra.

Option A, about seven hundred kilometres, is the class of Agni-I. Option B, about two thousand kilometres, is the class of Agni-II. Option C, about three thousand five hundred kilometres, is closer to Agni-III and to the submarine-launched K-4. The family rises step by step, so the safest way to remember it is that each number in the name takes the range further out.

The correct answer is B, Sagarika. K-15, called Sagarika, is the first of the K series of submarine-launched ballistic missiles, developed for the Arihant class of nuclear powered submarines, and the longer-ranged K-4 follows it in the same family. A submarine-launched missile matters because a submarine at sea is hard to find, which is what gives a country the ability to strike back after being struck.

Option A, Dhanush, is the ship-launched version of Prithvi, fired from a surface vessel rather than from under the sea. Option C, Shaurya, is a canister-launched surface-to-surface missile that shares technology with the K series but is land based. Option D, Prahaar, is a short-range tactical surface-to-surface missile of about one hundred and fifty kilometres. All four names come from the same programme family, which is why they are offered together.

The correct answer is A, Nirbhay. Nirbhay is a long-range cruise missile that flies below the speed of sound, which is what subsonic means, and it is powered by a small turbofan engine that keeps it flying throughout its journey. Because it flies low and can loiter over a target area, it is often compared to an unmanned aircraft, and it complements the supersonic BrahMos rather than replacing it.

Option B, Agni-IV, is a ballistic missile, powered only in its early phase and then coasting along a high arc. Option C, Trishul, was the short-range surface-to-air missile of the IGMDP whose project was closed. Option D, Akash, is the medium-range surface-to-air missile of the same programme. Only Nirbhay is a cruise missile among the four, and the difference between cruise and ballistic flight is the point being tested.

The correct answer is B, Chandipur, Odisha. The Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, on the Odisha coast near Balasore, is the main missile testing facility of the DRDO, and many launches are also made from Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Island off the same coast, which was earlier called Wheeler Island.

Option A, Sriharikota, is the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, from where ISRO launches its rockets, not a missile range. Option C, Thumba, in Kerala, is the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station, where India's space programme began with sounding rockets. Option D, Pokhran, in Rajasthan, is the field firing range where the nuclear tests of 1974 and 1998 were carried out, and it is used for army trials, but the dedicated missile test range is Chandipur.

The correct answer is C, 2019. Mission Shakti was conducted on 27 March 2019, when a DRDO interceptor launched from Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Island destroyed a satellite of India's own in a low earth orbit. The test showed an anti-satellite capability, and the government said the target was deliberately kept in a low orbit so that the debris would decay quickly.

Option A, 2014, is the year the Mars Orbiter Mission reached Mars. Option B, 2017, is remembered for the launch of one hundred and four satellites on a single PSLV flight. Option D, 2021, saw no such test. Candidates often mix Mission Shakti with Operation Shakti, which was the name given to the Pokhran nuclear tests of 1998, so keep the two apart by the word mission for the satellite test.

The correct answer is B, Prithvi. Dhanush is the ship-launched variant of the Prithvi short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile, fired from a stabilised platform on a naval vessel, and it can be used against targets on land or at sea. Prithvi itself was the first ballistic missile India developed on its own, and its versions went to the Army, the Air Force and the Navy in turn.

Option A, Agni, is the long-range ballistic family, and its sea-going counterpart is the K series, not Dhanush. Option C, Nag, is the anti-tank guided missile carried on the NAMICA vehicle. Option D, Astra, is the beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile fired from fighter aircraft. The pairing worth memorising is Prithvi with Dhanush for the Navy, and Prithvi with Prahaar for the shorter tactical role on land.