India unveils deadly ‘STAND-OFF’ weapons for the IAF

Last month at the Aero India 2015 air show which was held in Bangalore, India unveiled two deadly ‘stand-off’ weapon systems which with a little govt. backing and further research and development can enter into mass-scale production within two years from now if all goes well.

One of them will be a 150-km range stand-off glide weapon system and the other will be a 288-km range lightweight cruise missile system, both fitted with a deadly explosive warhead. The Indian Air Force has been looking to induct such a deadly weapon system for years and it seems that the effort has finally paid off with at least a concept model surfacing at the Aero India 2015 show.

The technical capabilities and performance parameters of the stand-off weapon system will be pre-decided before the DRDO or any other organisation decides to proceed towards further RnD. Currently there is no active development on these concept weapon systems but the very existence of an actual model concept at the Aero India 2015 show indicates that there is a design team that is dedicatedly working towards such a weapons platform. Both concept models were fabricated at an IAF depot.

The stand-off weapon system if developed will have serious tactical capability complemented with long range endurance and deadly accuracy.

What are Standoff Missiles ?

Standoff missiles are missiles or bombs which may be launched at a distance sufficient to allow attacking personnel to evade defensive fire from the target area.

Typically, they are used against land- and sea-based targets in an offensive operation.

The name is derived from their ability to engage the target while standing off outside the range at which the defenders are likely to engage the attacker. Typical stand-off weapons include cruise missiles, glide bombs and short-range ballistic missiles.

India already has two stand-off weapon systems inducted into the armed forces.

1. The BrahMos-A is a modified air-launched variant of the missile which will arm the Su-30MKI of the air force as a standoff weapon.
2. Nirbhay is an all-weather low-cost long-range standoff cruise missile with stealth and high accuracy. The missile has a range of more than 1000 km.