Place of origin India Weight ~55,000 kg | In service Unconfirmed | |
Type Intercontinental ballistic missile Designer Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Warhead 3-10 MIRV warheads with yield >200 kt | ||
The Surya missile is an intercontinental ballistic missile speculated to be in development by India. As the missile is yet to be developed, the specifications of the missile are not known and the entire program continues to remain highly secretive. The first report about the Surya missile was published by The Nonproliferation Review in 1995, albeit the status remains unconfirmed as of 2012.
Contents
History
According to a report published in The Nonproliferation Review, Surya (meaning the Sun in Sanskrit and many Indian languages) is the codename for one of the Intercontinental ballistic missiles that India is reported to be developing. The DRDO is believed to have begun the project in 1994. This report has not been confirmed by any other sources until 2010. Officials of the Indian government have repeatedly denied the existence of the project.
According to the report, the Surya is an intercontinental-range, surface-based, solid and liquid propellant ballistic missile. The report further adds that Surya is the most ambitious project in India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme. The Surya is speculated to have a range between 12,000 to 16,000 kilometers.
It is believed to be a three-stage design, with the first two stages using solid propellants and the third-stage using liquid.