DRDO Explores to Develop Next-Gen Stealth ALCM with SFDR Tech for Supersonic Speed and Long-Range Precision Strikes

DRDO Explores to Develop Next-Gen Stealth ALCM with SFDR Tech for Supersonic Speed and Long-Range Precision Strikes


India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is in the early stages of conceptualising a next-generation air-launched cruise missile (ALCM), according to sources familiar with the matter.

This forward-looking project aims to combine stealth design with supersonic speed, creating a formidable weapon capable of executing long-range precision strikes while bypassing sophisticated enemy air defence systems.

The proposed missile will be powered by Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) technology, a cutting-edge propulsion system that India has been successfully testing for several years.

Unlike conventional solid-propellant rockets that carry both fuel and an oxidiser, an SFDR is an air-breathing engine. It ingests atmospheric oxygen during flight to combust its solid fuel, allowing the missile to maintain high speeds over great distances.

This efficiency is crucial as it enables a more compact and lighter missile design, a key requirement for achieving stealth characteristics.

A significant feature of this planned missile is its ability to travel at supersonic speeds, which is a departure from many existing stealth cruise missiles globally.

Most current stealth weapons, such as the American JASSM and the European Storm Shadow, are subsonic. While their stealth shaping and materials make them difficult to detect, their slower speed can provide enemy defence systems with a window to attempt an interception.

By developing a supersonic cruise missile, the DRDO aims to drastically reduce this reaction time, ensuring the weapon can penetrate heavily guarded airspace to neutralise high-value targets.

The use of SFDR technology directly contributes to the missile's proposed stealth capabilities. A lighter and smaller missile has an inherently lower Radar Cross-Section (RCS), making it significantly harder for radar systems to detect and track.

Furthermore, the unique properties of a ramjet engine could produce a different thermal signature compared to traditional rocket motors, potentially reducing its vulnerability to infrared or heat-seeking sensors.

This multi-layered approach to low observability is central to the missile's design philosophy.

This initiative is reportedly a spin-off from the Astra Mk3 air-to-air missile programme, which has now been named Gandiva. It represents a logical evolution of the DRDO's work on advanced missile systems.

While the stealth ALCM concept is still in its preliminary phase, its development signifies a major ambition for India's strategic defence capabilities.

If successful, this weapon would provide the Indian Armed Forces with a powerful standoff tool, allowing fighter aircraft to launch decisive attacks from well outside the range of enemy air defences, thereby enhancing national security and offensive potential.
 
Good. Once DRDO masters the tech, it's easy for it to develop new variants – a combo of two tech to develop one potent missile. With reduction in weight and volume will add low RCS while retaining the sub-sonic speed. This is stepping stone; once this is mastered, then next would be increasing the range.
 
This missile and it’s SFDR technology is a very critical and important missile that we need to 100% indigenously design, develop and manufacture it with Indian raw materials. While it has a long interception range of about 300km ideally we should increase that range even further so that we can fire our missiles to kill that target.

We can definitely create a stealth missile from this SFDR missile and we should do it. We should develop the missiles body with composites and paint it with radar absorbing materials which shouldn’t be complicated or difficult to create.

We should also look at developing a hypersonic missile which can travel at Mach 5 with a similar range between 300km-400km.
 
Good. Once DRDO masters the tech, it's easy for it to develop new variants – a combo of two tech to develop one potent missile. With reduction in weight and volume will add low RCS while retaining the sub-sonic speed. This is stepping stone; once this is mastered, then next would be increasing the range.
It will be supersonic, and maybe we can develop a hypersonic variant also, as DRDO confirmed development of hypersonic air-to-ground missiles.
 
We also need missiles similar to ADM 160/Spear 3 weighing in the range of 105-150kg which will have a HE warhead of around 35-40 kg with range starting from 200km-650km for Air launched variants with micro turbojet engine of 1.5-2 KN with speed of 0.95-1.25 Mach, very similar in structure to Spear 3.
This will enable even very light fighters like Tejas to carry around 8 of them in Dual rack configuration.
There should also be a ship launched variant which can be quad packed in VLS cells having a range of 280-350km.
This can also act as Decoy missiles, EW variants & other purposes.
 
Kudos to DRDO!🎉🎉
Nowadays, DRDO has been making waves in many of its fields, especially in the missiles development. That's fantastic. Now, the DRDO bashers must be bleeding profusely at their nose. 🙂
Wow!
 
Empowered DRDO is making a world of difference. The seed of Missile technology that was sowed by Dr. Kalamji and the other pioneer engineers is paying great dividends. The huge tree is seen growing with every achievements. By 2030 India would be the force of missiles that world would be afraid off.
 

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