SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG
In a significant stride toward bolstering India’s strategic underwater capabilities, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) recently unveiled key components of the K-5 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM), signalling that its development is gaining momentum.
The showcased items—including the missile’s canister, nose cap, torrential air bottle, and TOR gas generator casing—offer a rare glimpse into the advanced engineering behind this next-generation weapon system. With a projected range of 6,000–8,000 kilometres, the K-5 SLBM is poised to place all of China within India’s striking reach, even when launched from the farthest stretches of its coastline. Designed as a three-stage missile, the K-5 is set to arm the advanced S-4* class of submarines, further solidifying India’s nuclear triad and second-strike capability.
The K-5 SLBM represents the pinnacle of India’s secretive “K” series of submarine-launched ballistic missiles, named in honour of former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Building on the successes of the K-15 (750 km range) and K-4 (3,500–4,000 km range), the K-5 aims to extend India’s strategic reach far beyond its current underwater missile capabilities. With a reported range of 6,000–8,000 km—potentially adjustable based on payload weight—the missile will enable India to target adversaries across vast distances, including the whole of China, from the safety of its coastal waters or the Indian Ocean.
The DRDO’s recent showcase of the K-5’s canister confirms that the missile is transitioning from conceptual design to tangible assembly. The canister, a critical component, ensures the missile’s safe storage, transportation, and cold-launch capability from a submerged submarine.
This cold-launch technique—where the missile is ejected from its tube by gas pressure before its rocket motor ignites—enhances stealth by minimizing thermal and acoustic signatures, a hallmark of modern SLBM systems. The torrential air bottle and TOR gas generator casing further support this mechanism, providing the high-pressure gas needed to propel the missile out of the submarine’s launch tube and through the water column.
Another highlighted component is the nose cap, which plays a dual role: protecting the missile’s warhead during its underwater ascent and detaching upon surfacing to allow for a seamless transition into atmospheric flight. This design mirrors the innovative approach seen in the K-4, which also features a breakaway nose cap, but the K-5’s larger scale and extended range suggest enhancements tailored to its ambitious mission profile.
The K-5 is a three-stage, solid-fueled missile, a configuration that balances range, payload capacity, and reliability. Each stage is meticulously engineered to optimize performance: the first stage propels the missile out of the water and into the boost phase, the second sustains its ascent and trajectory, and the third ensures precision targeting over intercontinental distances. With a diameter reportedly around 2.45 meters—comparable to the Russian R-39 SLBM—and a length speculated to exceed 12 meters, the K-5 is a formidable system designed to carry a payload of up to 2 tons. This payload capacity opens the door to multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), a feature hinted at in open-source discussions, which would allow the missile to strike multiple targets with a single launch.
The K-5 is intended for deployment on the S-4* class of submarines, an advanced variant of India’s indigenous Arihant-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs). The S-4*—part of the broader Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project overseen by the DRDO and the Indian Navy—is expected to feature eight vertical launch tubes, doubling the missile capacity of the earlier INS Arihant and INS Arighat, which carry four K-4 SLBMs each.
This progress is part of a broader push to enhance India’s SLBM family. The K-6, with a rumoured range exceeding 8,000 km, is also reportedly under development, destined for the even larger S-5 class SSBNs (12,000 tons, 12 missile silos). Together, these systems will form a layered underwater deterrent, capable of addressing threats across multiple ranges and geographies.
NOTE: Article cannot be reproduced without written permission of idrw.org in any form even for YouTube Videos to avoid Copy right strikes. Websites doing illegal reproductions will get DMCA and Legal Notices.