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Rail Mobile ICBMs - Ghost Trains
Combat railway missile system (BZhRK - Boevyh Zheleznodorozhnyh Razrabotka Kompleksov ) is a type of strategic missile systems of mobile railway basing. Is a specially designed train, in cars which are placed strategic missiles (usually intercontinental class), as well as command centers , technological and engineering systems, security equipment, personnel, ensuring operation of the complex and its life-support system.
In this special railroad train composition, the ICBMs, launch control points, security facilities, and technologies are placed in carriages along with life support systems. The launching of missiles can be carried out both from a permanent point. dislocation, and from the parts of the patrol routes. The first BZHRK took up combat duty in the later part of the 1980s. Similar complexes are not available abroad.
According to the idea of ??the developers, BZHRK could form the basis of the Soviet grouping for a retaliatory strike, since the complexes had increased survivability and were likely to survive after the first strike by the enemy. The high mobility of trains, capable of moving along the country's railway network, made it possible to promptly change the dislocation of the starting position over 1,000 kilometersper day. This was in contrast to tractors operating in a relatively small radius around the base (tens of kilometers).
The trains however remain solely on the Russian territory as the size of Russia's railway gauge is broader than that of Europe. Rail tracks in the territories of Russia and the former Soviet Union were constructed using broad-gauge track (1,520 millimeter, or roughly 5 feet). Most European railways west of the Baltic states, as well as 60 percent of the railways in the world, use standard-gauge track (1,435 millimeter). The origins of the difference in rail gauges between Europe and the former Soviet Union extend back to the 19th century. For Russia, the different rail gauge served a strategic military purpose by complicating the ability of hostile militaries to move troops and materiel into the country by rail.
In the 1960s, as the Soviet Union lacked strategic nuclear submarines, and the United States’ George Washington strategic nuclear submarine was in service, the Soviet Union hoped to use land-based mobile launches to make up for the gap between the means of nuclear retaliation. Somesources suggest that the R-9/SS-8 missile was studied to be used at the time, but its liquid fuel and oxidant must be temporarily filled. If the train had six launchers, oxidizers and fuel required at least eight 60-ton special tankers. This option is not discussed in standard histories of this missile.
Carrying large amounts of oxidizers and fuels by train is very dangerous, and the temporary filling of the launch site of the railway also affects the maneuvering launch capability of the train. In addition, the structure of the SS-8 missile cannot be completely erected, and the radio measurement equipment antenna used for ballistic correction is too large to be maneuverable. In the 1960s, the Soviet Union’s intercontinental missile trains had been under development. There may have been pilot trains, but not service.
While the Soviet Union was exploring missile trains, the United States was not idle either. From the end of the 1950s to the early 1960s, the United States had proposed the principle of simultaneously launching the Minuteman inter-continental missile underground silos and railway mobile launches simultaneously. However, the United States first solved the ballistic missile underground silo technology, and the intercontinental missile train did not make progress. In 1962, the research on the missile launch of the missile was cancelled.
Before the Begining
Helmut Gröttrup, in his report to the CIA in 1954, noted that "In early 1946, somebody came up with the idea of developing and constructing a special missile train using the workforces of German railroad car building firms and bringing in any other rolling stock. . . . The government allocated the necessary sizeable resources, the Soviet military administration drew up a top-priority order to railroad car and instrumentation firms, and the feverish activity began. The project called for the creation of a special train that could support the entire process of missile testing and launch preparation from any uninhabited location so that the only construction required would be railroad track.”
By the end of December 1946, two FMS trains were constructed and completely fitted out, which to Chertok was “absolutely miraculous”. The trains consisted of [forty] special freight cars and flatcars, among them “laboratory cars for off-line tests of all the onboard instruments, cars for the Messina radio telemetric measurement service, photo laboratories with film development facilities, a car for tests on engine instrumentation and armature, electric power plant cars, compressor cars, workshop cars with machine tools, cars containing restaurants, bathing and shower facilities, conference rooms, and armored cars with electric launching equipment. The trains [had] the capability to launch a missile by controlling it from the armored car. The missile [was] mounted on the launch platform, which along with the transporter-erector equipment [was] part of a set of special flat cars. Five comfortable sleeping cars with two-bed compartments, two parlor cars for high-ranking authorities, and a hospital car [made] it possible to live in any desert without tents or dugouts.” Chertok called the FMS trains a “marvel of railroad technology”, without which the Russian rocket specialists simply could not have imagined living and working at the firing range on the steppes at Kapustin Yar (Chertok, Vol. I, 356-357).
Magnus, one of the German specialists present at the firing range at Kapustin Yar, stated in his memoir that he recognized the cars of the FMS train as the ones that had been designed and fitted [out] at the Zentralwerke in Bleicherode before the German specialists’ deportation to the Soviet Union. At that time, he and his colleagues had wondered about its strange official name, Fahrbare Meteorologische Station (mobile metereological station). However, when [they came face-to-face] with it at Kapustin Yar, they realized that it was a special train fully equipped for missile testing (Magnus, 125).
The order "On the creation of a mobile combat railway missile complex (BZHRK) with a rocket RT-23" was signed on January 13, 1969. From the idea to implementation, a long time passed: a tactical and technical assignment is issued, a preliminary design is developed, everything is done in accordance with GOST, in accordance with the established procedure. It was necessary to choose a design bureau (KB), which will cope with such a difficult task.
The choice fell on the Dnepropetrovsk KB "Yuzhnoye", which was headed by one of the Utkin brothers - Vladimir Fedorovich, a specialist in solid-fuel topics, he designed a launch vehicle. Alexey Fyodorovich was involved in the launch complex, including wagons for BZHRK.
In 1979, the Minister of General Mechanical Engineering of the USSR, Sergei Aleksandrovich Afanasyev, set a fantastic task for the Utkins. That's what Vladimir Utkin said shortly before his death:
"The task that the Soviet government set before us was amazing with its grandeur. In domestic and world practice, no one has ever encountered so many problems. We had to place an intercontinental ballistic missile in a railway car, and in fact a missile with a launcher weighs more than 150 tons. How to do it? After all, the railroad train with such a huge load must walk along the national routes of the Ministry of Railways. How to transport a strategic missile with a nuclear warhead in general, how to ensure absolute safety on the way, because we were given a design speed of the train to 120 km / h. Will the bridges withstand, the canvas will not collapse, and even the start itself, how to transfer the load to the railroad bed at the launch of the rocket, will the train stand on the rails during the launch..."
The main problem was the launch. How to make the fire tail of a rocket not burn, like matches, sleepers, would not have melted the rails with its hellish temperature? And how to solve these issues? A powder engine pushes the rocket out to a small height, the rocket maneuvering engine is turned on, and the gas jet of the rocket's propulsion engine passes by the train wagons, the container and the railway track. There was the main decision, which crowned all the rest. This pop-up "cold launch" technique was also used on silo-based missiles.
The special rolling stock was manufactured at the Tver Wagon Works. Eight-axle wagons of reinforced construction with special equipment, equipment, devices. BZhRK looked as usual structure from refrigerating, postal-baggage and passenger cars. 14 wagons had eight wheel sets, and three cars - four pairs each. The train could work autonomously for up to 28 days.
The train consisted of locomotives, several passenger and freight cars. Unlike ordinary cars, there were not four but eight pairs of wheels on the BZHRK. There were no familiar windows in passenger cars. All of them were replaced by simulators protected from the inside by an armored sheet. Inside, as in ordinary passenger trains, a compartment for officers and warrant officers, reserved seats for soldiers. There was a first-aid post, a dining room and psychological relief facilities.
One of the cars was earmarked for rest time for personnel not on alert duty. It consists of the compartments to which we are accustomed, the only difference being that they contain additional built-in third berths and a foyer with a television set and tables for board games. In addition, there are air conditioners and a shower. Provision is also made for a technical maintenance car.
The wagons themselves had dimensions to accommodate the transport-launch container, so that a rocket with all stages, with a fairing (which was inflated only at start-up), with a folding socket of the engine could lie down in it. A serious problem was that the weight of the rocket 102-103 tons exceeded the permissible load on the axis. Pressure on the axis was reduced by transferring the load to other cars. The car with the product, in addition to the hitch, leaned against the neighboring carriages with special projections and distributed its mass in this way.
Thanks to the available reserves on board, the complex could operate autonomously up to 28 days. The teams were distributed on special emergency routes, 200 points of the route were provided for the launch. The train could have traveled a day a thousand kilometers, but because of the heavy weight of the missiles, three M-62 locomotives were required to move it, and some wagons were equipped with eight wheel pairs in addition to four. In this case, the convoys could only travel on specially reinforced sections of the railroad track, which made it possible to detect and establish constant tracking through satellite systems.
Provision was made for the possibility of launching at once from the entire train, as well as the divergence of the composition into three different points, so that the team could launch independently from three remote locations. To this end, each train consisted of three locomotives.
In February 1985, the first train BZHRK in an atmosphere of absolute secrecy arrived at the launch pad in Plesetsk. Ttroops began to prepare the product for launching and to perform all the operations established by the regulations. Construction workers also finished work, installers were engaged in laying cables, equipment, installing instruments, but officers were also involved in the case. The first launch was preceded by ground tests. A cargo-weight model of the BZHRK was manufactured - a full-sized rocket, but inert: instead of fuel, concrete is poured, the cavities are filled with sand, and dummy models are installed instead of the instruments. However, the cargo characteristics, rigging, fasteners are the same - this is to determine whether the missile will load into the car or not load.
Flight tests of rockets 15Zh61 of the complex RT-23 UTTKh were made in 1985-1987. At the launch site of the testing site, all operations, installation, installation, electrical testing were carried out. And, finally, the long-awaited event in February 1985 (the first mine launch was two years earlier). The cable lines were stretched to our command post. And crews conducted launches of these missiles from railway cars. From receiving the command, stopping the train before launching the rocket - the process took about three minutes.
At the Plesetsk cosmodrome (NIIP-53), a total of 32 launches were made. A total of 18 sorties of BZHRK on the country's railways were carried out (more than 400 thousand kilometers were passed). Tests were conducted in different climatic zones of the country (from the tundra to the deserts).
The first BMZ "Molodets" with the RT-23UTTX missile took up combat duty in October 1987. By mid-1988, the Strategic Missile Force deployed five regiments, the trains were located about 4 km apart in stationary facilities, and when intercepted for combat duty, trains dispersed.
By 1991, three missile divisions were in service with the BZhRK with the RT-23UTTX ICBM: the 10th missile division in the Kostroma region, the 52nd missile division in Zvyozdny (the Perm Region) and the 36th missile division I missile division in the closed zone "Kedrovy" (Krasnoyarsk Territory). Each division consisted of four missile regiments, that is, it had 12 BZHRK, three BZHRKs in each regiment.
Each BZHRK squadron received a rocket regiment. There were more than 70 servicemen in the train on alert , including several dozen officers. In the cabins of locomotives, in the field of machinists and their assistants were only military officers and ensigns. If the composition passed through the city, then usually at night, by detour, in an atmosphere of maximum secrecy. These trains ran around the country in complete secrecy, they were strictly guarded, tracked along the whole route, accompanied, monitored, so that they did not inadvertently become the object of someone's increased interest.
The cost of one missile for BZHRK in 1985 prices was about 22 million rubles. A total of 12 BZHRK trains were manufactured, each carrying three missiles, they cruised the country, including the Moscow railway. While on alert, at any time they were ready to carry out the command's order. All trains provided for the possibility of a re-charge, ammunition was available in arsenals. Plus an experimental train that was on the Plesetsk Northern Training Ground for training, combat training exercises.
According to the START-2 treaty (1993), Russia had to withdraw all RT-23UTTX missiles from service before 2003. At the time of removal from the arsenal, Russia had three ( Kostroma , Perm and Krasnoyarsk ), only 12 trains with 36 launchers.
On 05 May 2005, the combat railway missile complex RS-22 (according to NATO classification "Scalpel") was withdrawn from combat duty in the Strategic Missile Forces. This was announced by the commander of the RVSH Colonel-General Nikolay Solovtsov. On June 16, 2005, the penultimate of the Scalpel railway-based missile systems was sent from the Kostroma missile unit to the storage facility for subsequent liquidation. The last one was planned to be destroyed in September 2005.
Despite Russia's withdrawal from the START II treaty in 2002, during 2003-2007 all trains and launchers were dismantled except for two demilitarized and installed as exhibits in the museum of railway equipment at the Varshavsky railway station in St. Petersburg and in the AvtoVAZ Technical Museum .
The official reason why "Scalpels" was removed from armament is the expiration of the service life, although taking into account that they were taken into service in the years 1991-94, this period should expire only by 2018, provided that regular service was provided by manufacturer.
since 1993 only Russian enterprises have been developing and producing missiles for the Strategic Missile Forces. The Ukrainian design bureau "Yuzhnoye" (Dnepropetrovsk) and other Ukrainian enterprises that participated in the creation of BZhRK "Molodets", are not involved in the development of "Barguzin". Ukrainian experts are also excommunicated from the service of the Voyevoda missile complex, produced by Yuzhmash.
The plant in Pavlovgrad (Ukraine) now makes trolleybuses instead of rockets. And Ukraine, becoming a nuclear-free state, can not, nor does it produce or maintain nuclear weapons under the terms of the agreement, especially now that the new Ukrainian authorities have taken a course toward the west.
False Dawn
In December 2011, the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Lieutenant-General Sergei Karakaev, announced the possible revival of the complexes of the BZHRK in the Russian army. On April 23, 2013, Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov announced that the Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering (the developer of the Bulava, Topol and Yars missiles) has renewed the development of new generation railway missile systems.
Barguzin emerged in response to the US' Prompt Global Strike (PGS) project, which is a system that can deliver a precision-guided conventional weapon airstrike anywhere in the world within one hour, in a similar manner to a nuclear ICBM.
In December 2013, the press published information on the revival in Russia of complexes BZHRK on a new technological basis as a response to the program " Instantaneous Global Impact of the United States ." The Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering (MIT) in early 2014 will complete work on the draft BZHRK project. The new complex BZHRK, equipped with ICBMs with a separable warhead created on the basis of "Yars", would be disguised as a standard refrigerator car, whose length is 24 meters with a rocket length of 22.5 meters.
The new BZhRK model will bear the name "Barguzin". On 12 May 2016, it was announced the beginning of the creation of individual elements of the Barguzin Barguzin. Every "Barguzin" train will be armed with six ICBMs RS-24 Yars (a land equivalent of the submarine-launched Bulava).
On 02 December 2017, it was announced that the work on the project had ceased. Nevertheless, the military does not plan to completely abandon this project, a senior official of the agency said. According to him, "the project will be suspended, but there is no talk of a complete refusal - it is simply suspended for an indefinite period of time."
Among the disadvantages of the BZhRK with the RT-23 rocket UTTK was the impossibility of complete camouflage of the train due to an unusual configuration (in particular, three locomotives), which made it possible to determine the location of the complex using modern means of satellite reconnaissance . Nevertheless, for a long time the Americans could not detect the complex by satellites, and there were cases when even experienced railwaymen could not distinguish the composition covered with a simple camouflage net from 50 meters.
Soviet nuclear trains were very expensive to manufacture and operate, albeit cheaper than submarine complexes.
https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/MR-Book-Reviews/july-2017/Book-Review-004/ (a powerful wind blowing on Lake Baikal) Agni I - Road Mobile Launcher A 25 m long, 3.2 m wide and 4.2 m high road mobile launcher has been developed for transporting, erecting and launching surface- to-surface missile Agni l. This road mobile launcher gives the flexibility to launch the missile from any place connected by road anywhere in India. The missile payload can be integrated on launcher itself. Complete realisation of the launcher has been done indigenously. All critical components are indigenous or else available easily. Launching can be done remotely as well as manually. The system has inbuilt power supply and controls. A compact missile transportation and integration system has been used to integrate the missile with launch beam for erection. Missile is fired vertically. Salient Features Rear wheel steerable trailer Hydraulic suspension Road mobility Single stage tilting from 00 to 900 Remote control launching with manual override Various inbuilt safety features Facility to stop tilting in any position Agni II Rail Mobile Launcher The successful launches of Agni II from the static launcher demonstrated the indigenous re-entry technology for IRBMS/ICBMS available in country. For deployment of this long-range missile system, a need for mobility was felt. The task of converting the mastered technology into an operational weapon system has resulted in development of launching platform to carry the missile. Rail mobile launcher platform is a 27m long special purpose wagon on broad gauge. It houses tilt beam, transportation support, mating, integration and erection support. It is capable of performing all the operations required at launch sites. A payload integration device has been provided to facilitate payload changing from conventional to nuclear and vice versa. The technologies successfully demonstrated during the development of this launching platform are: rail mobility for IRBM class of missile, 6' verticality accuracy in both the planes, jet deflector to divert hot gases away from launcher tried successfully for the first time in the country, dynamic behaviour of launching platform for hot launch of IRBM class of missile, stiffness-based design of tilt beam and launching mechanism to suit the permissible deflection, hot launch concept for IRBM, first-stage support arm assembly for 15 ton compressive load. Salient Features The wagon/platform is levelled by five sets of hydraulic actuator/outrigger cylinders Tilting of missile is done in three stages by four hydraulic actuators Tilting is done through electronic controller remotely within accuracy of 90 + 6' verticality in either plane The mission-critical first-stage support arm assembly clears the path of missile within 200 ms DRDO has designed and developed five different launchers for the PJ-10 supersonic antiship cruise missile, BrahMos. The launches have been installed and successfully used in seven flight trials of the missile. Mobile Autonomous Launcher The BrahMos is a cruise missile based on the Soviet-era P-800 equipped with a ramjet engine to reach extreme speeds. In 1998 Russia and India launched a joint venture worth $250 million for the sole purpose of developing a supersonic multirole cruise missile that could hit targets 300 kilometers away. The BrahMos was operational by 2006 and adopted by the Indian Army and Navy the following year. The missile, which derives its name from the Brahmaputra and Moskova rivers, is 9 meters long, and carries a 200-300 kg warhead. The strike range of the missile has been enhanced from 290 km to 450 km. A unique state-of-the-art mobile autonomous launcher (MAL) has been developed for the BrahMos shorebased ground complex. The Mobile Autonomous Launcher (MAL) is the first indigenously developed single vehicle weapon system that comprises command control and communication systems. The land based weapon complex comprises of four to six mobile autonomous launchers controlled by a mobile command post (MCP). It is assisted by a Missile Replenishment Vehicle (MRV) and a Workshop Vehicle (WV). The MAL, MRV and WV all enter the actual battlefield, the MRV replenishing MAL with missile after launch, and WV with toolings required. The MAL is the first indigenously developed single vehicle weapon system that comprises command control and communication systems. The MAL is built on an advanced all terrain high mobility 12 x 12 TATRA vehicle with electronically controlled engine and transmission systems. It carries three canisterised missiles inside three independent containers. Containers provide necessary supports to the missile canisters; ensure thermal conditioning of the canisters and interface with the launch beam. The ground-resting units (GRU) are assembled together with the canisters to facilitate transfer of launch loads to ground. The containers are carried in horizontal position in transportation. The launch beam is articulated to make the canisters vertical through the operation of a high pressure hydraulic system controlled by an electronic controller. The launcher control system (LCS) functions in coordination with fire control system (FCS) and communication system.The vehicle and the systems are capable of operating in NBC fall out environment as all operations can be automatically carried out from a protected equipment cabin of the MAL. The MAL has a containerised power supply system consisting of 40 kVA diesel generating set and 40 kVA PTO alternator, a 2 x 7.5 kVA single-phase UPS with battery bank for 15 min back up, and a 5 kVA single phase generating set. Salient Features Carries three canisterised BrahMos missiles Vertical launch of missiles in single or salvo mode Launch readiness in 5 min Inbuilt fire control, command control and communication systems All operations by high-pressure hydraulics controlled by COTS-based launcher control system Thermally-conditioned canisters for operation between -40 0C and +55 0C Air-conditioned control crew cabin with NBC protection Inclined Ship Launcher DRDO has designed, developed and installed two deck-mounted inclined ship launchers having missile canisters at 15° angle on an Indian naval destroyer. The launcher consists of following different components: Base Structure: The structure forms the interface between the launcher structure and the ship deck structure and is welded to the ship deck in longitudinal direction at an angle of 40 to the horizontal. Launcher Structure: The launcher structure is a welded lattice structure constructed out of box sections.It has eight support pads bolted permanently to the base structure. This structure has clamping arrangements at three places corresponding to third, fifth and seventh supports of canister. The clamp assemblies are in two halves. Bottom halves are permanently bolted to the launcher structure whereas the top halves are removable. This structure supports two canisters. An optical measuring element has been provided on the structure to measure the alignment of the canister with respect to the ship axes. Thrust Bearing Structure (TBS): It is welded to the top deck of the ship and base structure with proper alignment. This structure transfers the launching loads to the ship deck. Bottom Resting Unit (BRU): Comprises two parts, cylindrical shell and dish end. The cylindrical shell comprises the canister with electrical connectors connected to the canister. The dish end is bolted with the cylindrical shell. BRU rests against TBS on the launcher. Canister Loading Supports: These supports are required during the loading of canister on to the launcher when the sea is having moderate movements. While loading, the canister is first placed on these loading supports. The assembly is then transferred to clamp assembly by lowering the loading supports and moving back until the canister is positioned and the locating pin matches perfectly. Loading Gear: Loading gear consists of two main units, lifting beam and its accessories, and hydraulic power pack. The lifting beam is designed for tilting of canister in air in any desired angle in the range of 0° to 20°. It handles the canister by holding it at the handling supports. A hydraulic driven screw in the lifting beam is used to tilt the canister to the desired angle with the help of hydraulic power pack. The lifting beam is designed to handle the canister weighing up to 4500 kg including the weight of BRU. Launcher control system (LCS) is designed for safe and reliable control and status monitoring of hydraulically operated structures. The control system consists of a main controller, necessary feedback sensors, dual redundant communication interface with fire control system (FCS), and interconnecting harness system. It monitors and controls the time constrained operation of platform levelling, beam articulation, object sliding, mast articulation, mast raising, and various locking and unlocking mechanisms in a predefined sequence as per interlock conditions with due care at each stage in various modes of operation. The controller carries out the control operation as per command inputs (on communication link from FCS), while checking for the interlock conditions and ensuring safety and reliability. A number of position feedback sensors like limit switches, gravity referenced inclinometers, pressure sensors, pressure switches and cylinder stroke-length measurement sensors are used for sensing various positions of the structure and associated linkage movements and hydraulic pressures. The LCS is configured using commercially-off-the-shelf (COTS) open system architecture-based hardware and real-time operating system (RTOS) conforming to portable operating system interface (POSIX) standards. This enables to have a single, reasonably configurable hardware and software platform, which could be deployed for different launcher control applications with required reconfiguration.
Launching platform for Prithvi
Prithvi is a surface-to surface missile with a range of 40 km to 250 km. The integrated missile delivered in an unprepared state is housed in a GFRP container. The missile is prepared and launched from a specially designed mobile launcher mounted on a TATRA T-815 VVL 8 x 8 vehicle. The missile is transported on launcher horizontally and then articulated to vertical position for launching. The launcher has an inbuilt electronic safety interlock system for the safety of missile and operating crew during articulation of missile. The launcher houses a launch pad computer, relay box and audio communication system required for pre launch checks and launching the missile. To cater for power requirements of these systems a 5.7 kW DC generator has been provided. A removable type canopy on the launcher provides protection and camouflage. The articulation of the missile is achieved by a hydraulic control system to articulate the launch beam, vehicle stabiliser cylinders, cradle-operating cylinder and clamping cylinders. An electronic controller with safety interlocks has been provided for articulation in automatic mode and to ensure safety. The hydraulic control system utilises load independent proportional flow control system for smooth and jerk free operation. It can be operated both in manual and auto mode with the help of an electronic controller. Safety interlock logic has also been provided in the controller to ensure safety against any wrong operation. In case of any wrong operation, the system automatically goes to the unloading mode. The vehicle engine drives the main pump of the hydraulic system. The system is designed for 275 bar pressure.-
Firing of the missile is carried out in vertical plane containing the center line of the chassis and the center line of the missile within the verticality of 90 ± 30' arc after levelling missile to the desired level of accuracy
The launcher is protected against heat and blast
Safety of launcher and missile is ensured, both in transportation and articulation mode
Cradle top plate is provided with three-point screw jack levelling arrangement to achieve verticality of missile within 30' arc
The launcher is designed to withstand wind velocities of 30 m/s for missile in launch readiness and 10 m/s for missile launch
Cradle top plate has arrangement to mount the umbilical chord housing and the chord protection from the missile exhaust
The launcher is designed to withstand a temperature of - 20 to 55 C and an altitude up to 4500 m
Missile is rigidly clamped to the support beam at bulkhead positions
A missile arrester lug is provided for arresting the sliding of the missile during transport mode and to provide the required alignment of the missile on the launcher while loading
A foldable/removable stand is provided for mounting of Theodolite for azimuth alignment
Missile connection to launch table assembly is through launch release mechanism and base ring (during transport mode the missile is connected to cradle top plate of launch table, and rear and front arrester lugs are inserted)
Suitable floor provided on the chassis for movement of personnel. The floor top designed to withstand any propellant spillage. Working platforms with suitable ladders provided for easy approach to propellant ports. The floor has removable covers for maintenance of vehicle transmission/recovery winch. Suitable protection provided for vehicle wheel tyres from heat
Electrical systems are housed in a suitable compartment mounted on floor.
Launcher controls are positioned in such a way that the operator closely watches the articulation of the missile during manual operation
DF-41 Rail Garrison
China is developing the DF-41, a new road-mobile ICBM capable of carrying MIRVs. Some reports indicate that China might also deploy a rail-mobile version of the DF-41 ICBM. China was working on the creation of its DF-41 at least since the late 1980s. China has expressed interest in rail mobility to increase the survivability of its ICBM force. In a May 2012 journal article the former chief of staff of the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces, retired Colonel General Victor Esin, noted there would be a rail-mobile version of the DF-41.
In 2013 the Georgetown University Arms Control Project reported that China had obtained ICBM rail car insights from Ukraine, where the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau produced the RT-23 (SS-24 'Scalpel') rail-mobile solid-fuel ICBM used by the Soviet Union and then Russia from 1987 to 2005.
In December 2015, it became known that the Chinese had tested the Dongfeng-41 rocket, launching from a modified railway car. Richard Fisher reported that on 5 December 2015 China was observed conducting a launcher test of a new rail-mobile version of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It was not a full test, but just a trial of the 'cold launch' system, in which the DF-41 was ejected from its launch tube with a gas charge but the engine was not ignited. As such it was likely meant to test the tube launch system's compatibility with its new rail car. This followed an apparent full flight test of the DF-41 on 4 December 2015.
Details of both tests were first revealed by US officials to The Washington Free Beacon, which reported on the test on 21 December 2015.
Solid-fuel DF-41 was developed with a mobile launcher, it is assumed that it has a range of 10-12 thousand km and carries a separating warhead containing up to 10 combat units. In the central part of the country, a complex system of roads, railways and tunnels was built to ensure the safety of the nuclear arsenal for deterrence purposes. Part of this system is probably the DF-41 rail-based system. It is rumored that its development was carried out by China not without Ukrainian help.
Nuclear-armed strategic submarines (SSBNs) are considered the most survivable nuclear weapon system in the US arsenal. When on patrol at sea, they assure a retaliatory capability unmatched by the other two legs of the triad. Bombers are widely considered the most flexible of the three legs of the triad. In the context of nuclear conflict, bombers can be used to counter a wide range of threats, are recallable, and are useful for signaling intent due to their visibility. The silo-based ICBM force is credited with responsiveness.
Typically, a mobile ICBM remains in garrison until tensions merit dispersal to the countryside. The survivability of a mobile ICBM with this concept of operations depends heavily on adequate intelligence and warning. In other words, a mobile ICBM is more survivable than a silo-based ICBM given enough time to generate and disperse, but is less survivable in a normal day-to-day posture (presumably in an unhardened shelter on a base) than a silo-based ICBM. In a crisis, an adversary may be incentivized to attack early and from a platform with less warning (such as an SSBN) in order to destroy the mobile ICBMs before they can be dispersed.
model TATRA 815-7 10x10 DRDO chief Avinash Chander stated in September 2013 that Agni-V will be tested early next year in a "canister-launch version" to give armed forces the requisite operational flexibility in swiftly transporting and firing it from atop a launcher truck. "It will reduce the reaction time drastically...just a few minutes from 'stop-to-launch'. Agni-V will be inducted within two years after three-four more tests. All future strategic missiles will be canisterised," said Chander.
Tata LPTA 5252
The Tata LPTA 5252 special wheeled chassis was as a private venture to meet a possible Indian Army requirement. It is intended to carry various missiles, such as Prahar, Brahmos and Nirbhay. It might also carry Indian Agni ballistic missiles. Tata Motors is not to be confused with Tatra, a Czech vehicle manufacturer in Koprivnice. It is owned by the Tatra Trucks company, or CKD Tatra. The procurement of Tatra trucks was put on hold pending a CBI probe into bribery allegations by former Army chief Gen V K Singh. The move heralded the end of a decades-long monopoly Czech-made Tatra trucks enjoyed in supplying the military's high-end vehicles. In 2013 Tata Motors offered its latest vehicles to the Defence Ministry to replace the controversial Tatra trucks, used so far to carry missiles such as Agni and Prithvi. The Ministry had already been offered trucks by Russian and Belarusian firms for replacing the Tatras including the Volat trucks from Belarus which are used to carry strategic missile systems of the Russian armed forces. The Tata 12x12 Prahaar Missile Carrier is an indigenous high mobility, all-terrain and all-wheel-drive LPTA 5252 12x12 vehicle is specifically for missile launcher-cum-carrier applications like integration of BrahMos and Nirbhay Missiles, in close coordination with R&DE – DRDO. A large cab of this vehicle accommodates driver and four passengers. This cab is standard across the range of Tata high-mobility military vehicles. It is tilted forward for engine access and maintenance. The LPTA 5252 is a member of the new Tata family of high mobility military trucks. Other vehicles are smaller and are available in 4x4, 6x6 and 8x8 configurations. Indian Army already operates a significant number of various trucks, produced by Tata Motors. However these are light and medium vehicles. The LPTA 5252 has a payload capacity of 33 tons. Vehicle is relatively simple in terms of design and technology. It is worth mentioning that the Tatra 12x12 truck, which is currently used as a TEL vehicle for Brahmos missiles has some limitations in maximum payload and axle capacity. Hence only three Brahmos missiles are carried by a single Tatra launcher vehicle in stead of four. The new Tata truck offers more flexibility in terms of a number of axles and maximum load capacity. The Tata LPTA 5252 is powered by a turbocharged diesel engine, developing 525 hp. Engine is mated to a 7-speed automatic transmission. However suspension of the Tata is not as sophisticated that that on Tatras it might replace. It is claimed that the LPTA 5252 has good cross-country mobility, however Tatras already made their name for superior off-road performance. At low speeds two rear axles are also being steered in order to reduce turning radius. Vehicle is fitted with a central tyre inflation system. On hard surface roads this military vehicle uses 12x8 configuration for maximum speed and range. On rough terrain it can be driven in 12x10 or 12x12 configuration, depending on terrain conditions. With preparation vehicle fords water obstacles up to 1.4 meters deep. In line with its business strategy to enhance the scope of its defence business right up to frontline combat, Tata Motors has revealed a new Micro Bullet-Proof Vehicle (MBPV) at the ongoing DefExpo India 2012 at Pragati Maidan. This highly mobile combat vehicle is designed to assist the country’s elite forces in indoor combat at airports, railway stations and other such infrastructure. Tata Motors launched four other defence vehicles – the 12x12 Prahaar Missile Carrier, Light Armoured Vehicle, Mobile Bunker and 6x6 7kl Refueler – and displayed a range of other concept vehicles, such as the Tata Quick Deployment Mobile Communication Terminal (QDMCT). Speaking on the occasion, P M Telang, managing director - India Operations, Tata Motors, said: “The launch of our new combat and tactical vehicles and equipment, leveraged from our strength in design and development of a wide range of commercial vehicles, now enables us to cover the entire defence mobility spectrum. Tata Motors defence solutions already covers the complete range of logistics and armoured vehicles that have also been popular in supporting the police and paramilitary forces in counter-insurgency operations.” http://www.military-today.com/trucks/tata_lpta_5252.htm https://www.tatamotors.com/product/defence-combat-support-platforms-12x12/ http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/commercial-vehicles/118353-details-about-tata-motors-range-defence-vehicles.html https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79R00961A000900050008-6.pdf India has chosen to keep all of its land-based missiles on mobile launchers as opposed to basing them in underground silos. India’s Agni-V missile will mark a major milestone in the development of India’s Credible Minimum Deterrent posture (CMD). Agni V launch platforms include an 8×8 Tatra TEL and a rail-mobile launcher. placed on a road-mobile launcher, the missile will be survivable in the event of a preemptive strike. This is in contrast to the Agni II and Agni III, which are rail-mobile and thus less flexible. The Agni-II was India’s first viable production IRBM and is mounted on a rail mobile transporter- erector- launcher (TEL) with some suggestions that the TEL can be made road mobile as well. Using a rail-mobile TEL, the Agni-III represented the largest missile to date that India has fired from such a launcher. Many Indian analysts believe that the Indian hinterland would provide adequate strategic depth to disperse India’s ballistic missiles. India’s rail and road networks could provide opportunity to keep moving the missiles at random. By 2012 India's Strategic Forces Command (SFC) already had rail mobile Agni-IIs and IIIs deployed. And it had been deemed that a better cost benefit calculus is possible by making India's newer long range ballistic missiles canisterized road mobile systems. Avinash Chander then Chief Controller Missiles and Strategic Systems, DRDO (and now Director General, DRDO) put it in an interview to Frontline in April 2012. "You can stop on the roadside on the highway, launch from there and go away. You can stop the traffic for five minutes on either side, launch and go away. Your ability to move, your options to launch and your operational flexibility increase manifold. You have a reduced reaction time. Everything is already prepared. Just make the missile vertical in three minutes, and the launching takes another few minutes. So you stop, launch and go off. That does not give the enemy a chance even if he detects you. He does not know from where you are going to launch. Only when you have made the missile vertical for launch will he realise that you are going to launch it." India has the third largest road network in the world. The density of India's highway network is higher than that of the United States. The road network in India is divided into the primary system comprising national highways and the secondary system made up of state highways and major district roads. Of the total length of the national highway network, about 27 percent is single-laned or intermediate-laned, 54 per cent is two-laned and 19 percent is four-laned. Most of the Indian roads are un-surfaced (42.65%) and are not suitable for use of vehicular traffic. The poor maintenance of the roads aggravates the problem especially in the rainy season. One major problem on the Indian roads is the mixing of traffic. Same road is used by high speed cars, trucks, two wheelers, tractors, animal driven carts, cyclists and even by animals. Even highways are not free from this malady. As of 2012 India had 600-700 km of access-controlled expressways, though it was working continuously to build more high-quality, access-controlled expressways for faster connectivity between cities and towns. One study has stated 18,637 km of expressways need be built by the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period, i.e. 2022. Infrastructure development (for expressway projects alone), on such a massive scale would require about Rs. 450,000 crore (US$ 82.56 billion), according to the study. Meanwhile, the Government, under National Highway Development Program (NHDP)-VI, gave the green signal for constructing four expressways of more than 1,000 km length at a financial outlay of Rs. 16,680 crore (US$ 3.06 billion). About 26,000 km (16,000 mi) have been widened to four lanes with two lanes in each direction as of May 2016. Only a few national highways are built with cement concrete. As of 2010, 19,064 km (11,846 mi) of national highways were still single-laned roads.India's Road Network
While the first two launches of the Agni-V – on April 19, 2012 and September 15, 2013 respectively – were of the standard Indian uncanisterised missile, following the pattern set with the Agni variants I through IV, the tests on January 31, 2015 and December 26, 2016 were of a canisterised system mounted on a road mobile platform. Road mobile strategic missiles were developed by Russia because they are more survivable but considering the security environment in South Asia, it could be a risky option. Agni-V was successfully test-fired from a test range at Wheeler Island, off the coast of Orissa in eastern India, on 19 April 2012. It was launched from Launch Complex 4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) using a rail mobile launcher. The third test launch, in early 2015, was cold launched from a hermetically sealed canister mounted on a tractor-erector-launcher (TEL). “Launch from a canister integrated with a TEL enables launch in minutes as compared with a silo – or open – launch. It also has advantages of higher reliability, longer shelf life, less maintenance and enhanced mobility,” said the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO). A mobile system would allow India to keep the Agni Vs constantly moving along its road network. They can also be hidden off the road, in secret bunkers or forests, thereby keeping the enemy guessing all the time. During the Soviet years, Russia was not an easy place to travel, with its own citizens requiring passes to travel internally. There were regions and cities that were off limits to most civilians, forget foreigners. Under such circumstances, one could operate these rail and road mobile ICBMs, without the threat of terrorists or spies trying to sabotage or infiltrate these missile groups. India’s highways and interior roads – where the mobile ICBMs might operate – are not secure. The biggest threat is from terrorists who may hijack an ICBM and blackmail the country’s leadership. Or figure out a way to actually launch the missile. Providing extra security for land mobile ICBMs will only compromise secrecy and thereby defeat the purpose of having them on mobile platforms. The problem with mobile TELs is that they move with support vehicles making it a slightly bigger target for detection and identification. Tatra trucks are the backbone of army's artillery and transportation wings. The Indian Army uses Tatra all-terrain vehicles to mount guided missile launchers and haul heavy artillery. Since 1986, the Indian Army has bought over 7,000 Tatra trucks. The Tatra Scam was a possible embezzlement of a sum of Rs 750 crores [US$ ,000] of Government funds, perpetrated by the Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) in collusion with the Ministry of Defense. On 30 March 2014 CBI registered a case naming Rishi and unnamed officials of defense ministry, Army and BEML for alleged criminal conspiracy and irregularities in the purchase of the all-terrain Tatra vehicles by the Indian Army from the Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), a Bangalore-based company. At least 15% of the money sanctioned for the purchase of Tatra trucks was siphoned off as commission. Everyone from top to bottom got their share. CBI on August 26, 2014 closed its probe into the Tatra scam saying that there was insufficient evidence to file a charge sheet in the case. The Defence Ministry has already lifted the ban on state-run Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), which will be permitted to supply spare parts. But BEML had dwindling exposure to the defence market post the controversy over the purchase of Tatra trucks. In 2015-16, the defense business (consisting primarily of sale of high-mobility vehicles) contributed a mere 11 percent (as opposed to nearly 30 percent a decade before) of BEML’s total gross revenue of Rs. 3426.02 crore. The Prithvi Missile Launcher is a transporter cum launcher vehicle. The missile is transported on launcher in horizontal mode and articulated to vertical mode using hydraulic control system. Electronic controller provides the desired safety inter locks during articulation. The launching of the missile is done over a launch table adjusting the missile vertically to the desired level using the leveling system. The theodolite provided on the changing system provided on the launcher helps to check the azimuth alignment. The warhead changing system provided on the launcher is used for changing the warhead in-situ. Provision has also been made to mount the launch pad computer. A 2kw DC Gen set is provided on the launcher, which gives the power required for prelaunch check of the missile and launcher electronic controllers. The Oxidiser Carrier is meant to carry approximately 160 ltrs oxidizer sufficient to fill the PRITHVI missile tank. Three such containers are mounted on a carrier vehicle Tatra VVL. This modular concept of design helps to transport the oxidizer from factory to deport and further to the missile maintenance battery for filling into the missile. These containers are designed as unfired pressure vessels in order to serve the dual purpose of transporting as well as transferring the oxidizer to missile tank under pressure with the help of pressure transfer equipment. The modular concept as such brings down total inventory, reduces risk due to spacing of propellants and ease of replacement as containers are smaller in size. The Warhead Carrier is a special container carrier body on BEML-TATRA VVL 8x8 used to carry containers with warheads [four pictured, five according to caption] from depot to Missile Maintenance Battery (MMB) preparation area. This vehicle is a part of ground system in MMB. The Fuel Carrier Vehicle developed on BEML-Tatra VVL 8x8 is used to carry Xylidine i.e. ‘g’ fuel. This is a part of PRITHVI ground system deployed in Missile Maintenance Battery for charging the missiles. Missile Transporter Vehicle is meant for carrying PRITHVI missile less warheads. Two missiles and wings are separately carried on each vehicle in special containers, which are pressurized. Ammunition Loader is developed on BEML-Tatra T815 VVNC 6x6 chassis for carrying Ammunition pallets and crew. A hydraulic crane of lifting capacity 65 K Nw (6.5 tm) and maximum reach of 5.4 m is fitted behind the driver’s cabin for loading & unloading of Ammunition pallets. A platform is provided after the crane to carry ammunition pallets / crew. Also hydraulically operated spare wheel mechanism provided. The vehicle can wade through water up to 1400 mm deep. It has a step climbing ability upto 600 mm and trench cross ability of 900 mm. The superstructure attached to the underframe of a wagon is called wagon body. It consists of body side and ends with their supporting structures such as stanchions, corner angle in case of open wagons, copings, roof structures, carlines; roof sheets in the case of covered wagons; hoppers and their supporting members in case of hopper wagons; tank barrels, cladding, if any, and supporting saddles in the case of tank wagons. Doors, door fittings, operating handles, louvers for ventilation and various fittings such as cleats, handles, hooks, footsteps, hand brake wheel and ladders also form part of the body. The type and size of a particular underframe is intimately related to the type and design of a wagon, as it constitutes the main load bearing sub-assembly for the vehicle. The overall dimensions and design of this structure take into account the quantum and pattern of loading on the vehicle as well as the track considerations. This in turn determines the permissible wheel base of a bogie wagon would be required for the purpose of carrying the required load. Accordingly, while designing an underframe, the loading per meter is also taken into account as this is to be permitted by the type of track available. The buffing and impact loads also govern the strength of the underframe and the shunting speeds permitted for the marshalling of the goods stock. In the case of bogie wagons, the load transfer to the bogie frame is by means of pivot arrangement and thus the bogie frame also assumes an equally important function. The bogie is comprised of cast steel frames and a floating bolster. The bolster is supported on the side frame through two nests of springs. This also provides a friction damping proportional to load. An axle is a steel shaft on which the wagon/rolling stock wheels are mounted. The axle holds the wheels to gauge and transmits the load from the journal bearing to the wheels. The portion of the axle on which the wheel is pressed is known as wheel seat. Bogie Flat Arjun Tank Wagon [BFAT Wagons] are fitted with transition type center buffer couplers along with side buffers. This enables the wagon to be coupled to other rolling stocks either with center buffer couplers or screw couplers, with a length over coupling faces of 15782 mm. Chains with pockets for lashing of tanks on the Wagon are provided. Four numbers of loading end flaps are provided over side buffer at both ends to facilitate loading of MBTs. Lashing chains and track guides are provided for guiding the movement of the tanks during loading and unloading as well as Wedge stops for securing the MBTs during transportation.BFAT Wagons are specially designed for transportation of main battle tanks viz., Arjun, T-72 / T- 90 and BMP-II. The Underframe is a heavy welded flat structure fabricated with steel plate flooring. Underframe will have provision to accommodate center pivot pin for bogies, buffers and transitional coupling. Bogies are of 3 Axle fabricated welded type with cylindrical roller bearing and brake linkage. The suspension arrangement is with leaf spring interlinked with the three axles through fulcrum lever. BFAT Wagons are provided with dual Brake. Air brake system of single pipe graduated release type. Air brake cylinders, valves, reservoirs, piping etc. are mounted on the bottom side of the underframe. The wagons are also provided with a hand brake. Vacuum pipe is also provided for attachment with vacuum rolling stock.Underground Great Wall
The term "Underground Great Wall" is used generically to reference any large underground military related facility. The Pinggangling Underground Great Wall was built in 1889 and was the frontier advisor of the Guangxi Frontier Defense Commander Su Yuanchun in the late Qing Dynasty. Shuolong “Boundary Underground Great Wall” was originally an underground anti-aircraft artillery fortification. Later it was renamed the “Boundary Underground Great Wall”. The Bozhou old city underground is known as the "Underground Great Wall." The Underground Great Wall in Zhangjiakou refers to the northern end of downtown Dajingmen east, west Wanquan County, a total length of 10 km, with a west Victoria Peak Ming Dynasty Great Wall in the same direction on civil air defense projects. This project was built in the 1970s under the condition of "dig tunnels deep, store rice everywher, never seek hegemony." Like the Great Wall on the ground, it is also a military defense project. Military construction in mountains is hard, for the difficulty of digging far more than civil underground railway construction (not to mention the civil subway construction also contains a lot of ground construction). The construction of tunnels and underground works is difficult, and in mountainous areas it is more troublesome to carry out the construction of heavy machinery. Second Artillery Corps early tunnel engineering is also really directly linked to the three-tier project (Chuan, Gui, Yun, Shan, gan, Ning, Qing, four provinces of the "Big Three", is also the 1960s strategic depth of the planning of the most important). Po-Cheng Railway was originally built with this matter has the most direct relationship. But the difficulty of construction is not a problem that can be solved simply by manpower. Now construction in the mountain, in fact, mostly unrelated to the tunnel, put into the current military planning, is the basic construction of the people's Air defense. Therefore, although the construction of the "Great Wall" has not changed over the years-the first nuclear strike can effectively preserve the ability to fight nuclear power-but the response to the plan is different. In the late 1990s, the new tunnel and underground engineering drew lessons from the subway construction project, as well as the uneconomical technology renewal and introduction of the granite tunnel, so that the construction speed of the engineering corps was greatly improved. Originally a few regiment a year's workload, now a battalion is enough. The current Second Artillery corps Western tunnels and underground works include underground bunkers, underground transfers, underground storage, and even information transfer-related projects.At the same time, due to the large increase in the distance, the border provinces of the tunnel underground engineering gradually deserted. Only four to five provinces need to be preserved and refined. The "Asia Pacific Defense" magazine's signature article also introduced the situation of the Chinese Second Artillery underground position. According to the article, China’s early medium-range ballistic missiles used permanent ground position deployment methods, while the first intercontinental missile, Dongfeng-5, was deployed with reinforced silos. When China began deploying Dongfeng-5 missiles in 1979, there were a total of 24 true and false silos, but these protective measures were no longer effective in the face of increasingly sophisticated reconnaissance satellites and increasingly accurate anti-zone missile attacks. If the reinforcement of the silo does not ensure the safety of the missile, then the entire launch site is completely buried within a few hundred meters of the ground, which is clearly considered a feasible solution by the Second Artillery. According to the Asia-Pacific Defense magazine, as early as the summer of 1995, an inconspicuous news from the “ Liberation Army Daily ” mentioned that tens of thousands of Second Artillery officers and soldiers had fought for more than 10 years and finally completed a major national defense project. On March 24, 2008, the "military documentary" program broadcast on China Central Television revealed this underground nuclear counterattack project and was called "Great Wall Project" by the outside world. In August 2011, according to reports on the website of the “Diplomat” of the Japanese media that the Chinese Second Artillery underground missile position was exposed, the most important underground missile position of the Chinese Second Artillery Force may be located in a mountainous area in North China, and strategic ballistic missiles can be located in this “underground maze”. Medium-range deployment and launch from hundreds of true and false mixed underground silos. The tunnels are said tobe 5,000 kilometers long and began construction in 1965. The tunnels are several hundred meters deep; this allows withstanding the impact of conventional missiles or nuclear missiles. The "China Defence News" disclosed the situation of the Second Artillery Force building underground missile caverns. Analysts said that Chinese media dared to announce these strategic facilities known as the “ Underground Great Wall ”, indicating that China had unprecedented confidence and courage in its nuclear warfare system. The 5000-kilometer value is not officially published by the Chinese authorities, but is reported by foreign and European researchers such as the American think-tank International Strategic Assessment Center and the Wall Street Journal. It was reported that the scale of this tunnel project demonstrated to the outside world the prospects of China's nuclear strategy. After combining all the known data, some analysts concluded that the number of Chinese nuclear warheads is even greater than the original maximum estimates of the outside world. The Underground Great Wall can store so many as 3,600 missiles. Analysts believe that the solid and hidden "underground Great Wall" is an important means for China to preserve its "second nuclear attack" capability. Since China pursued the policy of "not using nuclear weapons first," it would seek to ensure that a minimum deterrent number of intercontinental missiles can successfully be launched after they have escaped enemy attacks, and successfully penetrated the enemy missile defense system and direct nuclear warheads at selected targets. It was the most important task of the Second Artillery of China. The review article of the Russian “Aerospace Defense” website believed that despite the limited size of China’s nuclear arsenals, due to the existence of a hidden and solid “Underground Great Wall,” even the United States and Russia cannot guarantee that all strategic nuclear weapons will be eliminated after the first nuclear attack. The strength is precisely the existence of the “Underground Great Wall”, which ensures the security of the country as a whole. Under the ground, it can withstand nuclear strikes. The interior is connected with a distance of several thousand kilometers and increases maneuverability. At the same time, even if an exit is attacked in wartime, the missile can smoothly move to any other exit among the networked caves and then put it into actual firing. Intelligence analysis believes that the PLA’s rocket army strategic missile force can complete all its combat readiness activities underground. In the wartime, underground can be used through the mesh corridors. Railcars and heavy-duty trailers can transport missiles, equipment and personnel to fixed locations for launch. Strategic nuclear missiles can be deployed in hundreds of mobile deployments in the “underground Great Wall”. The disadvantage of road mobility is that the cost is too large, the army equipment and preparation of a large, complex security system, too many service vehicles, the goal is relatively large, in case of a broken several vehicles, the launch will be discounted. If a missile brigade concentrated maneuver, thousands of vehicles queued dozens of kilometers, concealment is poor. Dispersing maneuver can also be, but under the condition of nuclear war, the organization battle becomes very complex and changeable, and the management is affected greatly in the bad electromagnetic environment. And so on, there are many problems. Agni-I is also designed to be launched from a rail-based mobile launcher; one that can move on a standard broad-gauge rail system and also from a road-mobile launcher system. DRDO’s Ahmednagar-based VRDE (Vehicle Research & Development Establishment) and the Pune-based R&DE (Research & Development Engineers) played important roles in validating the tractor-cum-transporter-cum-launcher. https://theprint.in/security/china-media-reports-new-missile-brigade-hit-mumbai/50731/ https://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/chinese-df-26-missile-3d-model-1287936 http://china-defense-mashup.com/">404 https://www.flickr.com/photos/martintrolle/sets/72157627695491874/ https://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/chinese-df-21-missile-3d-1168845 http://mil.news.sina.com.cn/2018-03-16/doc-ifysiehk8487293.shtml http://www.dailydefencenews.com/10-reasons-prithvi-defence-vehicle-interceptor-missile/ https://military.wikireading.ru/91050">Formation of the ideology of combat railway missile systems
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