Current Affairs
UPSC MISSILE MISFIRES - English
MISSILE MISFIRES
Why in News?
Recently, India acknowledged that “technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile” which landed inside Pakistan's territory.
Provisions for Testing
- Under the pre-notification of flight testing of ballistic missiles agreement signed in 2005, each country must provide the other an advance notification on the flight test it intends to take for any land or sea launched, suface-to-surface ballistic missile.
- Before the test, the country must issue Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) or Navigational Warning (NAVAREA) to alert aviation pilots and seafarers, respectively.
NOTAM - A NOTAM is a notice containing information essential to personnel concerned with flight operations but not known far enough in advance to be publicized by other means.
- The planned trajectory should not cross the IB or the LoC and must maintain a horizontal distance of at least 40 km from the border.
- The testing country must notify the other nation “no less than three days in advance of the commencement of a five day launch window within which it intends to undertake flight tests of any land or sea launched, surface-to-surface ballistic missile”.
- The pre-notification has to be “conveyed through the respective Foreign Offices and the High Commissions”.
- It was speculated that it was a test of one of India’s top missiles, BrahMos, jointly developed with Russia.
Brahmos Missile
- BrahMos is a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India (DRDO) and the NPOM of Russia.
- It is a two-stage (solid propellant engine in the first stage and liquid ramjet in second) missile
- It operates on the "Fire and Forgets" principle i.e it does not require further guidance after launch.
- Brahmos is one of the fastest cruise missile currently operationally deployed with speed of Mach 2.8, which is nearly 3 times more than the speed of sound.
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