BrahMos Missile to Get Enhanced Accuracy with DRDO's Indigenous Fiber-Optic Gyroscope

India's BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, already renowned for its speed and power, is set to become even more formidable. The DRDO is developing a cutting-edge Inertial Navigation System (INS) based on interferometric fiber-optic gyroscope (FOG) technology, significantly boosting the missile's accuracy and reliability.

This development marks a major step forward for India's indigenous defence capabilities. INS plays a crucial role in missile guidance, allowing it to navigate accurately without relying on external signals like GPS, which can be jammed or disrupted. Traditional INS systems use mechanical gyroscopes, but these have limitations in terms of size, accuracy, and resilience.

DRDO's new FOG-based INS overcomes these limitations. Fiber-optic gyroscopes utilize the Sagnac effect, where light beams traveling in opposite directions within a coiled fiber-optic cable are affected by rotation. By measuring the phase shift between these beams, the gyroscope precisely determines the missile's angular velocity, enabling highly accurate course correction.

"This technology offers several advantages," explains a DRDO scientist. "FOG-based systems are more accurate, compact, and robust than their mechanical counterparts. They have no moving parts, making them less prone to failure and ideal for high-speed, high-stress environments like those experienced by the BrahMos missile."

The new INS will provide the BrahMos with enhanced immunity to electronic interference, ensuring its effectiveness even in the face of advanced jamming attempts. This, coupled with increased precision and reliability, will make the BrahMos an even more potent weapon system for India's armed forces.

The BrahMos missile, a joint venture between India and Russia, is capable of speeds reaching Mach 3 and has a range of up to 450 kilometers. It can be launched from various platforms, including ships, submarines, aircraft, and land-based launchers. With this latest upgrade, the BrahMos is poised to solidify its position as one of the world's most advanced and versatile supersonic cruise missiles.

 

[Dipesh Debnath]

Its good to keep designs updated with time.i hope it improves the overall agility.

 

[ABHIJIT APSINGIKAR]

BEL already had developed a highly accurate ring laser gyroscope almost a decade back. Nothing new just playing around relays and modifying the core system a bit.

 

[Sandeep]

Any new technology that is 100% indigenously designed, developed and manufactured in India is good and welcome news. We can use this type of technology in our other missiles as well so we can cut down on foreign expensive imports as much as possible and as quick as possible so we don’t rely on them.

 

[Shiva]

use of fibre could had reduced cycle time by thousands folds.
Could be more accurate for digit control algorithms in making more accurate decisions for the supersonic product to pave a way to enhace it further to hypersonic level. Greate direction changes are happening.