Sagarika (pronounced: sɑːgərikɑː), also known by the code names K-15 or B-05, is an Indian

submarine-launched ballistic missile A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead ...

(SLBM) with a range of that was designed for retaliatory nuclear strikes. It belongs to the

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 ...

and forms a part of India's

nuclear triad A nuclear triad is a three-pronged military force structure that consists of land-launched nuclear missiles, nuclear-missile-armed submarines, and strategic aircraft with nuclear bombs and missiles. Specifically, these components are land-based ...

Description

The K-15 is a two-stage

which uses a gas booster to eject out of its launch platform and rise up to the surface of water. A

solid rocket motor A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses solid propellants (fuel/oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were used in warfare by the Arabs, Chinese, Persia ...

is fired after the missile reaches a fixed altitude. The missile has a range of around .

Development

Development of the K-15 missile started in the late 1990s with the goal of building a submarine-launched ballistic missile for use with the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

nuclear-powered s. It was developed at 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 ...

’s (DRDO) missile complex in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

. The development of the underwater missile launcher, known as Project 420, was completed in 2001 and handed over to the

for trials. The missile launcher is developed at Hazira in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. The Sagarika missile began integration with India's

nuclear-powered Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

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-po ...

that began harbor trials on 26 July 2009. By 2008, the missile was successfully test fired seven times, and tested to its full range up to four times. The tests of 26 February 2008, were conducted from a submerged pontoon beneath the surface off the coast of

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura (S20), INS ...

. A land-based version of the K-15 Sagarika was successfully test-fired on 12 November 2008. A full range test of the missile was done on 11 March 2012. The twelfth and final development trial of the missiles was conducted on 27 January 2013. According to DRDO Director General V. K. Saraswat, the missile was again tested for its full range of 700 km and met all its objectives with a single digit impact-accuracy. The test will be followed by integration of the missile with . On 25 November 2015, a dummy or unarmed K-15 ''Sagarika'' missile was successfully test fired from INS ''Arihant''. The missile was tested for a total of three times on August 11 and August 12, 2018. This completed the first phase of user trials of the missile. The missile was fully operationalised in August 2018.

Operators

; *

Notes

References

External links