Defence of India 路 Prelims

Indian missile systems for UPSC Prelims

Class first, name second - with an illustrative range ladder.

Think in classes first, names second. Agni is the long strategic ballistic family; Prithvi sits shorter; BrahMos is the cruise missile everyone recognises; Akash is surface-to-air. Exact published ranges shift with variants - learn the order of magnitude, not a fake precision number from a random handout.

Missile range classes SRBM MRBM IRBM ICBM-class with Indian examples
Range classes at a glance - illustrative bands for revision.
  • Ballistic - lofted trajectory (Agni, Prithvi families).
  • Cruise - powered flight in the atmosphere (BrahMos).
  • Air defence - Akash and related SAM layers.
  • SLBM / SSBN link - sea leg of the triad via Arihant-class boats under the SFC architecture.

If a question gives a range band, classify first (SRBM / MRBM / IRBM / ICBM-class), then match the family.

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