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| Kali 5000 Weapon System (Photo credit: indiatvnews.com) |
What is DRDO Kali 5000 weapon [UPSC 2021]?
KALI-5000 weapon is India's answer to any uninvited incoming missiles and planes. Moreover, the beam can also be used to cripple the enemy satellite and UAVs in no time. Some people are calling it as Kali Missile System but this is not a missile system but DEW (Directed Energy Weapon) system i.e. Kali-5000 is a real weapon system directed by laser. There is also speculation that DRDO and RAW carried out Operation Whitewash with it in Siachen to create an avalanche against Pakistan Army.
It is mainly developed to counter Pakistan and China's missiles and drones. In future Kali-5000 Weapon system will be used alongside S400 Triumf. It will be used like USAF Thor microwave drone killer to protect S400 Triumf from swarm drones attack. Though, S400 can easily track and shoot drones but it is not economically feasible. On the contrary, Kali-5000 weapon system can easily counter swarm drone attacks without any additional cost.
According to speculation, about 60% of the work is done on Kali but still there is a long way to go. DM Manohar Parikar has refused to give details on Kali-5000 range and its capabilities. He stated this weapon system is India's secret weapon system and cannot reveal its detail in public.
KALI
stands for Kilo Ampere Linear Injector. It is a linear electron
accelerator being developed by the Defence Research Development
Organization (DRDO) and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
Earlier the Kali system was developed for industrial applications and that the defence use was a recent spinoff.
The
machine essentially generated pulses of highly energetic electrons.
Other components in the machine down the line converted the electrons
into flash x-rays (for ultra high-speed photography) or microwaves. The electron beam itself can be used for welding.
The
KALI project was first mooted in 1985 by the then Director of the BARC,
Dr. R. Chidambaram. Work on the Project began in 1989, being developed
by the Accelerators & Pulse Power Division of the BARC.
The
project was designed to produce electron pulses of about 100 ns with an
energy of about 1 MeV, current 40 kA and a power of 40 GW. This
Relativistic Electron Beams (REB) thus generated will be used for the
generation of High Power Microwaves (HPM) & Flash X Rays (FXR).
This
has fueled hopes that the KALI could, one day be used in a High-Power
Microwave gun, which could destroy incoming missiles and aircraft
through soft-kill (destroying the electronic circuitry on the missile).
The
KALI's potential for a military role as a beam weapon has made it, in
the eyes of China a threat. The KALI-5000 was commissioned for limited use in
late 2004.
Why China and Pakistan Worried about Indian Secret Weapon Kali-5000?
India’s
Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said they are
developing directed energy weapons (DEWs) like Kali-5000 to counter
Chinese and Pakistani missiles and drones using high-energy lasers and
microwaves. DEWs are emerging military technologies that are yet to be
deployed by any military force but are seen as critical in future
warfare. According to media reports,
India has developed a national plan with short, medium and long term
goals to develop a series of DEW variants with up to 100 kilowatts of
power. This is being planned in a collaborative mode, to eventually
partner with and benefit from the domestic private sector. While India
is still in the early stages of developing this technology and nowhere
near possessing an operational capability, advances in such technologies
will have implications for both national and regional security.
Development
of DEWs is seen as particularly important in the context of India’s
worsening security environment, especially its ties with China. The
continuing military confrontation in eastern Ladakh is a reminder of the
challenges that China poses to India. Beijing’s growing military power,
including in space, cyber and electronic warfare domains, can inflict
significant damage on its adversaries, including India. China is also
developing DEW technologies. Indeed, India is probably developing its
own DEWs as a response.
Delivering
the 12th annual Air Chief Marshal L.M. Katre memorial lecture in August
2019, Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy, the head of the DRDO said,
“DEWs are extremely important today. The world is moving towards them.
In the country too, we are doing a lot of experiments. We have been
working in this area for the past three to four years to develop 10-kW
and 20-kW [weapons].” In August 2017, the DRDO is reported
to have tested a 1-kilowatt laser weapon at Chitradurga in the South
Indian state of Karnataka, on a target 250 meters away. Then Defense
Minister Arun Jaitley is believed to have been present for the test.
This is far from being a usable weapon, of course: in addition to the
limited distance of the target, the laser also reportedly took 36
seconds to create a hole on the target metal sheet. The Centre for High
Energy Systems and Sciences and Laser Science & Technology Centre,
two DRDO laboratories, are working on the project.
In
2018, while responding to a question in the Indian Parliament on the
DRDO’s major technological developments, the minister of state for
defense stated that the DRDO has developed
a vehicle-mounted high-power laser-directed energy system for use
against drones. The anti-drone system will supposedly be eventually
manufactured in large quantities through the involvement of the Indian
private sector. Two models
have been developed in this regard: the first can be fielded on a
trailer and has a 10-kilowatt laser to target aerial targets within a
2-kilometer range, whereas the second is believed to be a compact
tripod-mounted system, mounted with a 2-kilowatt laser designed to
operate at a rage of 1 kilometer. Officials cited in one report
claim that these have been displayed to the armed forces and other
relevant agencies and note that these are capable of taking out
mini-drones by jamming the command and control systems or by damaging
the on-board electronic systems. This system is capable of detecting and
jamming micro-drones to a distance of up to 3 kilometers and engaging a
target within a range of 1-1.25 kilometers.
KALI
is supposed to “quickly emit powerful pulses of Relativistic Electrons
Beams (REB)” that can damage electronic systems on-board. At a BARC
Foundation Day speech
in 2004, the BARC director said that a “high power pulse electron
accelerator KALI-5000 has been commissioned at an energy of 650 keV and
an electron beam power of 40 GW. High power microwaves having frequency
in the range of 3-5 GHz and power 1-2 GW have been generated.” Despite
this acknowledgement of the existence of such a system, there is very
little information in the public domain. The government has not divulged
any information, even in parliament. For instance, more than a decade
later, in 2015, while responding to a question in parliament as to
whether there are any plans to induct KALI 5000 in the Indian military,
Defense Minister Manohar Parikkar simply stated, “The desired information is sensitive in nature and its disclosure is not in the interest of national security.”
While details are sketchy, the technological roadmaps for the next decade developed by the Indian defense establishment in 2013 and 2018 articulated some of the military’s requirements. Media reports said
that according to Phase I of the roadmap,the Indian Army and the Indian
Air Force require a minimum of 20 “tactical high-energy laser systems”
that are capable of destroying “small aerial targets” and electronic
warfare systems at a range of 6-8 kilometers. In Phase II, the demand is
to have laser systems that have a range of over 20 kilometers to target
“soft-skinned” vehicles and forces from both land and air.
But
India’s DEW technological capabilities are still in the nascent stage,
and are not yet comparable to the more powerful systems of countries
like the U.S., Russia and China. While the effectiveness of these
weapons remains unknown because of the lack of open source information,
it is quite likely that these will mature in the coming decade.
Of course, these systems
bring their own advantages and disadvantages. Laser weapons, for
instance, have the capability to be focused precisely, which allows for
effective targeting. On the other hand, though microwaves cannot be
aimed like lasers, their ability to damage electronic systems without
causing casualties opens up other options. In fact, a report produced by
the U.S. Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA)
details many illustrative scenarios as to how these weapon systems
could be effectively used in contactless warfare in the future.
Indian security analysts argue
that the country could be vulnerable as technology advances in India’s
neighborhood. They also recommend that India consider the possibility of
developing an offensive capability in this regard. Given the
intensifying security dynamics in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, all the
major powers including India are likely to accelerate the pursuit of
these technologies.
India's Top Secret Weapon System Kali 5000 and Operation Whitewash in Siachen.
Here is an interesting video which gives detail on RAW and DRDO's Operation Witewash in Siachen i.e. Indian secret laser weapon kali in action for first time.
Is Kali 5000 ready and has India weaponized and deployed it?
It is speculated about 60% of the work is done on it but still there is a long way to go.
Reference for this article
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