First test of Sagarika cruise missile next year

Sagarika, India's first submarine-launched nuclear-capable cruise missile, will be ready for flight trials by early next year, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) sources said.

The turbo-jet powered, vertically launched cruise missile with a range of 700 nautical miles and capable of delivering a 500-kg warhead, is being developed by DRDO with Israeli assistance.

India is simultaneously seeking to rope in European missile firms for the project that is being kept under wraps.

The sources said the missile's first prototype, incorporating a solid fuel booster, should be ready for a test flight by early 2008.

At the same time, the DRDO is continuing the development of the submarine-launched version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile developed jointly with Russia.

The development of these two missiles, which will turn India into only the world's fifth power with such a capability, appears to be the silver lining in the country's missile programme that has been plagued by long delays and huge cost overruns.