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K-6 is an
intercontinental Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group (IH ...
submarine-launched
ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
under development by
Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India ...
of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The missile has a planned range of around 10,000 to 13,000 kilometres.


Requirement

Admiral Arun Prakash Admiral Arun Prakash, PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM (born October 1944) is a former Flag Officer of the Indian Navy. He served as the Chief of the Naval Staff from 31 July 2004 to 31 October 2006 and as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee ...
wrote in 2018 that the missile range of the
Arihant-class submarine The ''Arihant''-class ( in Sanskrit) is a class of Indian nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines being built for the Indian Navy. They were developed under the ''Advanced Technology Vessel'' (ATV) project to design and build nuclear-pow ...
s is not sufficient to target potential adversaries of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
; a missile with a range of around 6,000-8,000 kilometres would be required for this task to be performed by a submarine patrolling in a "safe haven". When the missile payload limitations of the Arihant-class were realised, India began developing the S5-class of submarines and the K-6 ballistic missiles. The developmental work for these missiles started in February 2017 at the Advanced Naval Systems Laboratory of
DRDO The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, ...
, with a completion target of less than ten years.


Description

The K-6 is an
intercontinental Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group (IH ...
submarine-launched
ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
. It is a three-stage missile and is solid fuelled. It is planned to armed with
multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle A multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) is an exoatmospheric ballistic missile payload containing several warheads, each capable of being aimed to hit a different target. The concept is almost invariably associated with in ...
s and will have a range of around 6,000 to 8,000 kilometres with a three-tonne payload. It has a planned length of over 12 metres and a diameter of over 2 metres.


Development

The K-6 is being developed by the Advanced Naval Systems Laboratory of the
Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India ...
since 2017. Testing of the K-5 missile will assist in developing the K-6.


See also

*
K Missile family The K family of missiles (K for 'Kalam'), is a family of submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) developed by India to boost its second strike abilities and thus augment its nuclear deterrence. Information about this family of missiles ha ...
*
S5-class submarine S5 is the code name for a planned class of Indian nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines currently being developed for Indian Navy. S5 will weigh around twice as much as the preceding . It is expected to start production by 2022. Design ...
*
India and weapons of mass destruction India possesses nuclear weapons and previously developed chemical weapons. Although India has not released any official statements about the size of its nuclear arsenal, recent estimates suggest that India has 160 nuclear weapons and has prod ...


References

{{Defence Research and Development Organisation Submarine-launched ballistic missiles Defence Research and Development Organisation Ballistic missiles of India Nuclear weapons programme of India Nuclear missiles of India