High Speed Low Drag Bomb: Difference between revisions

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}

The [[Armament Research and Development Establishment]] (ARDE),<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-12-18|title=Glide Bomb SAAW: Guided weapon's success proof of DRDO prowess in developing indigenous capability|url=https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/glide-bomb-saaw-guided-weapons-success-proof-of-drdo-prowess-in-developing-indigenous-capability/978209/|access-date=2020-09-22|website=The Financial Express|language=en-US}}</ref> [[Pune]] is the primary agency that started developing HSLD with the help from other DRDO laboratories to upgrade the conventional free fall [[Unguided bomb|unguided ordnance]] used by the Indian Air force (IAF) fighter pilots while [[Ordnance Factory Board]] (OFB) is the lead production agency. The development started with the aim to replace the older generation imported general purpose bombs that impose huge [[Drag (physics)|drag]] loss on [[fighter aircraft]] used by the IAF. The HSLD bomb is specially designed to productively use the higher speed of up to [[Mach number|Mach]] 1.1 and wider flight envelope of newer generation [[NATO]] and Russian origin as well as Indian made aircraft. [[High Energy Materials Research Laboratory]] (HEMRL) developed the [[Conventional weapon|conventional]] type warhead that features [[Blast wave|blast]], [[Fragmentation (weaponry)|fragmentation]] and [[shaped charge]] for [[bunker buster]] role which uses Dentex as [[primary explosive]] for HSLD 450 and [[Torpex]]-4B mixed with [[RDX]] that act as [[explosive booster]] for HSLD 500.<ref name="P. P. Vadhe, R. B. Pawar, R. K. Sinha, S. N. Asthana, A. Subhananda Rao">{{cite journal |title= Cast aluminized explosives (Review)|journal=  Combustion, Explosion, and Shock Waves|date=3 October 2007 |volume=44 |issue=July 2008 |pages=461–477 |doi=10.1007/s10573-008-0073-2 |last1= Vadhe|first1= P. P.|last2= Pawar|first2= R. B.|last3= Sinha|first3= R. K.|last4= Asthana|first4= S. N.|last5= Subhananda Rao|first5= A.|s2cid= 97973762}}</ref> By feeding the target coordinates, the warhead can be used to effectively destroy [[runway]], [[Railway tracks|railway track]], [[bridge]], industrial facility, [[Dock (maritime)|dock]] and [[bunker]] while able to work in the absence of GNSS input due to satellite jamming.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dutta|first=Amrita Nayak|date=2019-05-28|title=What is DRDO's inertial guided bomb and how it will boost India's defence capability|url=https://theprint.in/defence/what-is-drdos-inertial-guided-bomb-and-how-it-will-boost-indias-defence-capability/242066/|access-date=2020-09-22|website=ThePrint|language=en-US}}</ref> The family of HSLD comes in two versions namely a ''general purpose bomb'' (GPB) and a ''precision guided high speed low drag'' (PGHSLD) unit under three different weight class category which features semi-active laser homing and [[anti-jamming]] [[satellite navigation]] antenna. HSLD is designed to carry a nose extension unit (NEU) with fixed [[Canard (aeronautics)|canard]] for lift, stability and two different types of smart tail unit (STU) with individual independent fins controlled by a flight control unit (FCU) attached to a [[telemetry]] module to cover the whole spectrum of mission profile. The STU features a retarder tail unit (RTU) that is for low-level bombing missions while a ballistic tail unit (BTU) that can used for [[Strategic bombing|strategic]] [[high level bombing]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://delhidefencereview.com/2017/10/09/new-generation-arde-munitions-boost-indian-airforce-firepower/|title=New Generation ARDE Munitions Boost Indian Airforce Firepower|last=Thiagarajan|first=Sriram|date=2017-10-09|website=Delhi Defence Review|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-03-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.drdo.gov.in/gps-ins-guidance-and-control-kit-450-kg-hsld-bomb|title=GPS / INS Guidance and Control Kit for 450 kg HSLD Bomb|last=DRDO|website=Defence Research and Development Organisation|access-date=23 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tdf.drdo.gov.in/technology_updates/index/6|title=ARDE CARRIES OUT SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT TRIALS OF 500 KG GENERAL PURPOSE BOMB|last=DRDO|website=DRDO Technology Development Fund|access-date=24 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tdf.drdo.gov.in/technology_updates/index/8|title=ARDE CONDUCTS SUCCESSFUL TRIALS OF WEAPON PRECISION GUIDED HIGH SPEED LOW DRAG AIRCRAFT BOMB|last=DRDO|website=DRDO Technology Development Fund|access-date=24 March 2022}}</ref>

* {{Cite news |url=https://www.drdo.gov.in/sites/default/files/newsletter-document/August_17.pdf |title=DRDO Newsletter |publisher=Defence Scientific Information and Documentation Centre |date=August 2022}}