Missile warheads at supersonic speeds, on the ground

India has joined an exclusive club of four countries that can test payloads for missile and rocket technology by simulating a flight environment on the ground.

Terminal Ballistic Research Laboratory (TBRL), a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) lab in Chandigarh, has indigenously developed the facility known as the Rail Track Rocket Sled Penta Rail Supersonic Track, RTRS in short. It is a four km rail track where the trials are being conducted. Some confidential tests have already been conducted on this range, which includes recovery of crew capsules in manned space missions. Officials refuse to give more details on this at present.

The facility has come up on a massive property at Ramgarh in Panchkula and was inaugurated on May 12 without much fanfare. "Only Russia, France, the UK and the US are known to have this technology," said Dr Manjit Singh, director TBRL. Now, countries like South Africa have approached us to conduct tests but our priority remains DRDO." The track will soon be used to test aircraft arrestor gear, which retards aircraft speed during landing or an aborted take-off. "We have also tested this technology for aerospace systems and unmanned aerial vehicles," Dr Singh added.

These simulated tests are needed because real-life experiments can be prohibitively expensive. One can't repeat a test as the material is lost forever. With RTRS, tests can be repeated and the material can be retrieved to study the defects. The track can withstand maximum velocity of 1,800 km per hour with which components of missiles can be propelled at supersonic speed. The facility will also be able to test interceptor missiles and study air shelling precision.TBRL is presently working on enhancing RTSR from a payload of 800kg to more than two tonnes. The project cost is around Rs 100 crore. "It has taken us four years to reach here," said Dr PK Khosla, group director, RTRS.

The material to be tested is mounted on a carriage called a 'sled' and can be propelled to a maximum speed of Mach 3.0 with the help of rocket motors. Forty-two camera sheds placed some distance away monitor the velocity, acceleration and other parameters during the trials.


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