Indian Missile Transporter Erectors and Launchers (TEL)
- Thread starter Ashwin
- Start date
First of all this a trailer not a rigid truck, so I dont think the definition would even apply.
Secondly for A X B, A is the number of axle ends & B is the number of axle ends which are powered.
For example this Tata Prima tractor is available either 4X2 (two axles) or 6X4 configs (three axle)
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Yes
I will hazard a guess , that it is a stop gap measure for testing . I could be wrong also.
I think that's a generic vehicle used for testing purposes, not the final TEL.
The tyres are all terrain. They are off-road capable. You can clearly see the treads.
They just won't go on rocks.
For archival purposes a brief story of the evolution of the Shaurya family & some comments on it. Posting here as this might get lost on the other threads.
The initial version was a quintessential SRBM. Notice the missile's nose poking ahead of the truck's cabin.
The 1st modification came with the addition of the nose cap when the missile was decided to be deployed via silos.
The best video of the Shaurya's testing came during this period. I think this is the only video of the Shaurya out there, I could be wrong. The silo launched version was also tested at low altitudes flying at Mach 7. Initially the goal was to test if DRDO had the materials to survive a low altitude hypersonic flight. The transformation of the missile to a quasi-ballistic missile that could fly in cruise missile like trajectory had begun.
Video:
Soon enough there was a Submarine & Truck based version of this missile, named the K-15/BO-5/Sagarika:
Notice how, unlike the initial Shaurya, the nose cap sits behind the cabin. The trucks in both example is the same BEML truck so the missile has shrunk in length.
Submarine based launch tubes:
Sub based launch container set up:
Walchandnagar Industries supplied the launch containers:
Walchandnagar Industries also made the K4's launch tube but that's a different subject:
Anyway the development of the missile continues with the 650km ranged SMART missile:
The SMART doesn't seem to have the nose cap and is also cold launched. The SMART is based on the newer version of the Shaurya which was described by the media as lighter & sleeker missile that can travel to up to 800 Km.
If Shaurya's newer version has been reduced down to the size of the Brahmos than the VLS used by the Navy for the Brahmos can serve as the the base for the development of the UVLMs. The advanced Shaurya can serve as a stopgap hypersonic AShM until the HSTDV based AShM/LACM &/or Brahmos-2 arrive. A Mach 7.5 cruise speed with 800 km range is a potent combination. The fact that the Navy operated the K15/BO-5 & in the future will operate the SMART means there is a compelling logistical case to be made as well.
Of course the Nirbhay's new version the ITCM, the upcoming Liquid fueled ramjet based LACM & the LA-LRCM etc. can also be designed to fit the Navy's Brahmos VLS. SAMs like the VL-SRSAM & the Barak-8 could be quad packed if they were cold launched. But they are both hot launched. With the VL-SRSAM we have already seen the 24 cell hot launch VLS module design. May be upcoming XR-SAM, AD-1 & 2 could be mated to the UVLMs, assuming they are navalised.
I will check back on this post when the UVLMs is revealed to see how many of my assumptions were right.
The initial version was a quintessential SRBM. Notice the missile's nose poking ahead of the truck's cabin.
The 1st modification came with the addition of the nose cap when the missile was decided to be deployed via silos.
The best video of the Shaurya's testing came during this period. I think this is the only video of the Shaurya out there, I could be wrong. The silo launched version was also tested at low altitudes flying at Mach 7. Initially the goal was to test if DRDO had the materials to survive a low altitude hypersonic flight. The transformation of the missile to a quasi-ballistic missile that could fly in cruise missile like trajectory had begun.
Video:
Soon enough there was a Submarine & Truck based version of this missile, named the K-15/BO-5/Sagarika:
Notice how, unlike the initial Shaurya, the nose cap sits behind the cabin. The trucks in both example is the same BEML truck so the missile has shrunk in length.
Submarine based launch tubes:
Sub based launch container set up:
Walchandnagar Industries supplied the launch containers:
Walchandnagar Industries also made the K4's launch tube but that's a different subject:
Anyway the development of the missile continues with the 650km ranged SMART missile:
The SMART doesn't seem to have the nose cap and is also cold launched. The SMART is based on the newer version of the Shaurya which was described by the media as lighter & sleeker missile that can travel to up to 800 Km.
If Shaurya's newer version has been reduced down to the size of the Brahmos than the VLS used by the Navy for the Brahmos can serve as the the base for the development of the UVLMs. The advanced Shaurya can serve as a stopgap hypersonic AShM until the HSTDV based AShM/LACM &/or Brahmos-2 arrive. A Mach 7.5 cruise speed with 800 km range is a potent combination. The fact that the Navy operated the K15/BO-5 & in the future will operate the SMART means there is a compelling logistical case to be made as well.
Of course the Nirbhay's new version the ITCM, the upcoming Liquid fueled ramjet based LACM & the LA-LRCM etc. can also be designed to fit the Navy's Brahmos VLS. SAMs like the VL-SRSAM & the Barak-8 could be quad packed if they were cold launched. But they are both hot launched. With the VL-SRSAM we have already seen the 24 cell hot launch VLS module design. May be upcoming XR-SAM, AD-1 & 2 could be mated to the UVLMs, assuming they are navalised.
I will check back on this post when the UVLMs is revealed to see how many of my assumptions were right.
On the weight we don't have a number yet. The original Shaurya was 6.2 tons with a 1 ton warhead. Assuming we are not retaining that ridiculously heavy warhead & we are incorporating latest solid rocket technologies like composite casings on boosters etc. weight can be brought down to 3 tons.
The warhead will probably be around the <500 kg. The newer Shaurya has a reduced range of 800 km as opposed to 1900 km with a 200 kg warhead. the range reduction is probably due to the decrease in size & weight.
The bigger one could be for strategic use with nukes, whereas the smaller one could be meant for theatre use, particularly by the navy.
Stick a seeker in, you get your very own hypersonic carrier killer. And a nuke version could be a last resort weapon against navies.
I don’t think even Russian fancy TELs go into trailing or crosscountry adventures or on front lines likes tanks and AFVs do.
That said, I believe those (Russians and Chinease TEL designs) are much more off road capable designs then these simpler TELs.
And I believe its by design/choice and not that we cant design/manufacture comparable vehicles or imports similar vehicles like many like you guys do. You have requirement so you got it from China.
We don’t have such requirement or at least not in our priority list.
Is it possible to compare TEL size with Brahmos to get an idea of diamentions? Thus weight.
Weight & diameter would be difficult. I can do some guess work for the length though. Let's give it a shot:
The SMART is mounted on the BEML-TATRA T815 27ER96 30 300 8x8.1R / 50T - 4150 truck:
The 1st problem is that we don't have an image of the SMART stowed on the launch truck. So to have a side by side comparison I had to cut-copy-paste the image above. The image below is a side by side comparison of the SMART in its launch tube & the truck. This is not ideal as the truck in the photo is at an angle that makes it appear shorter than it actually is.
Nonetheless we can see that the SMART's length is almost equal to the overall length of the truck, if you leave the gas generator out. Of course the gas can is a part of the launch tube & not the missile.
Here is the schematic of a tipper version of the same truck.
Overall length of the truck is around 8.5 meters. So with whatever little info we have it can be concluded that the SMART missile is around the 8.5 meter long. The Brahmos missile is 8.4 meters long. If our assumptions are right then the Brahmos, SMART & the new version of the Shaurya missiles are of nearly the same length. DRDO might have designed them to be of the exact same length, but with what we have so far there is now way of concluding for sure.
The truck used by the land based Brahmos is the BEML-TATRA T815 27ER96 30 300 12x12.1R / 50T - 4150.
This is not comparable to the 8x8 in use for the SMART.
Estimation of diameter & weight is not possible as the 2 missiles don't use the same hydraulic erector system. This is the best I got. Let me know if I missed anything.
It seems a design study was conducted in 2017 for trying to fit a quad pack of smaller hot launched missiles into a naval cold launch set up.
The smaller hot launch missiles are the SAMs & the cold launch set up it like the Brahmos VLS or the upcoming UVLMs set up. The quad pack has a hot gas routing system at the bottom attached to it. In the pic above the gas can is shown in white colour. There are white coloured tubes rising up along side the launch cannisters. These tubes will re-route the hot gasses upwards when the missile is fires.
The tubes rising up seem quite thin. This type of quad packing will be restricted to smaller SAMs, so I guess there won't be a lot of gas to route up anyway. Also there are space & weight constraints so that might have played a role. You can also see coiled springs below the gas can. The springs are probably for damping the recoil force. The platform below the springs is a part of the cold launch set up. This is where all the launch tubes rests.
It is just a design study so there is no certainty of this being used. We might still end up with 2 separate launchers: a cold launch set up for AShMs/LACMs/heavy SAMs & a hot launch set up for tactical SAMs like Barak8/VL-SRSAM. I am not even sure if this is their own design or are they studying some foreign design.
But at least they are studying the possibility of quad packing tactical SAMs. So the probability of the DRDO's UVLMs being a truly universal VLS is high.
The smaller hot launch missiles are the SAMs & the cold launch set up it like the Brahmos VLS or the upcoming UVLMs set up. The quad pack has a hot gas routing system at the bottom attached to it. In the pic above the gas can is shown in white colour. There are white coloured tubes rising up along side the launch cannisters. These tubes will re-route the hot gasses upwards when the missile is fires.
The tubes rising up seem quite thin. This type of quad packing will be restricted to smaller SAMs, so I guess there won't be a lot of gas to route up anyway. Also there are space & weight constraints so that might have played a role. You can also see coiled springs below the gas can. The springs are probably for damping the recoil force. The platform below the springs is a part of the cold launch set up. This is where all the launch tubes rests.
It is just a design study so there is no certainty of this being used. We might still end up with 2 separate launchers: a cold launch set up for AShMs/LACMs/heavy SAMs & a hot launch set up for tactical SAMs like Barak8/VL-SRSAM. I am not even sure if this is their own design or are they studying some foreign design.
But at least they are studying the possibility of quad packing tactical SAMs. So the probability of the DRDO's UVLMs being a truly universal VLS is high.
I don't see an exhaust though. Or it could be tri-pack, with the 4th one being used as exhaust. There's definitely going to be a lot of exhaust gas.