Can DRDO Deliver a Homegrown Alternative to the Rampage Air-to-Surface Missile?

The Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy's recent adoption of the Israeli Rampage air-to-surface missile has ignited discussions about the potential for a homegrown alternative. The Rampage, an extended-range derivative of the EXTRA artillery rocket system, is designed for precise strikes against high-value targets.

This development has prompted speculation about the role of India's DRDO in creating a domestic competitor. DRDO is already working on a 250km range Pinaka artillery rocket system for the Indian Army, leading to questions about whether this technology could be adapted for air-launched use by the IAF and Navy.

While the development of the extended-range Pinaka is underway, it remains unclear if DRDO has plans for an air-launched version tailored to the specific needs of the IAF and Navy. This presents a significant opportunity for India to achieve greater self-reliance in this critical area of defence technology.

Defence experts advocate for DRDO to prioritize the development of an indigenous air-to-surface missile based on the Pinaka system. This move would not only reduce dependence on foreign suppliers but also bolster India's domestic defence manufacturing capabilities. In the long term, this could potentially lead to halting local production of the Rampage in favor of the indigenously developed system.

The Rampage's introduction underscores the urgency for India to accelerate its efforts toward self-sufficiency in air-to-surface missile technology. DRDO's work on the extended-range Pinaka system represents a promising foundation for this endeavor. By focusing on the creation of an air-launched variant, India could make significant strides toward achieving self-reliance in this crucial domain.

 

[sanket]

First import should b banned and should b in favour of developing similar missile Indigenously.

 

[Kiran Kumar]

First import should b banned and should b in favour of developing similar missile Indigenously.

chacha, DRDO will take several years to develop and it will take some more years to approve and finally went for productions. Then what IAF will do? wait for DRDO to complete and sit idle. 20 years back Pinaka was developed by keeping Pakistan only in mind and China developed 250+ km rockets and we are nowhere to match China and with 250 km rockets we can't hit them

 

[Deepak Hegde]

First import should b banned and should b in favour of developing similar missile Indigenously.

No one with common sense will do this. Defence readiness comes first. Incompetence in timely development for any project on part of DPSU's is well known and documented in every single project.

 

[Taus Melek]

Can DRDO deliver a domestic air to surface missile alternative? The answer is definitely yes, but it will probably take 50 years!

 

[Deepak Hegde]

No one with common sense will do this. Defence readiness comes first. Incompetence in timely development for any project on part of DPSU's is well known and documented in every single project.

DRDO is not a DPSU but research lab organization.

 

[Aloo]

Can DRDO deliver a domestic air to surface missile alternative? The answer is definitely yes, but it will probably take 50 years!

Domestic air to surface missile already exits, Rudram1 all trials completed, Rudram 2 in trials.

I know they are different and much expensive than Rampage.

But point is to highlight your thought of DRDO taking 50 years for Air-SM is wrong as they already exist.

Will you accept you forgot about Rudram1/2 ? No problem if this happened, just human error.

 

[NSR]

Rudram II has same range so it can be used to develop various versions of interest.
Rampage version can be easily developed from Rudram II.

Go for it but order enough Rampages to meet interim requirements through Fast Track acquisition mode.

 

[Prit]

Rudram 1 has very similar specification to Rampage while Rudram 2 is better. 1 already has better accuracy than Rampage along with being faster. Why does the writer keep bringing Pinaka when Rudram is a better comparison?

 

[Parimal Pandya]

How much morale you can expect to common man in the country and defence personnel are not exceptional to the same as an example for Pakistani scientist Dr Kadir Khan and Indian scientist Dr sanstanam said that APJ Kalam was an average scientist to get the appointment for political agenda but no one opposed at the time of the appointments

 

[Deepak Hegde]

DRDO is not a DPSU but research lab organization.

Sir- You can call it by any name, it it will still continue to be as bad as it is !!

 

[Kailash]

Rudram II has same range so it can be used to develop various versions of interest.
Rampage version can be easily developed from Rudram II.

Go for it but order enough Rampages to meet interim requirements through Fast Track acquisition mode.

They should scale up Rudram's production immediately.. it is not like a fighter jet which will need a decade to scale up, they can easily do it in a year's time. We could buy the Rampage, but only after IAF whole heartedly commits to large number of Rudram

 

[Rajesh]

Even the pinaka extended version 90km can be developed to an air to ground missile like rampage probably 100 to 150 km and when the longer version of 250 or 300km comes we can make them to air launched missile.
meanwhile let the already acquired rampage do its job as we don't yet have anything similar,we can evaluate the rampage by then.

 

[Tls Mani]

Decentralized DRDO & form core companies for AD, AS missiles Rockets each a different vertical to make it efficient. This has been done for ordinance factories when they were making dud ammuntions