On 15 January 1949, when Lieutenant General K. M. Cariappa took over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Sir Francis Roy Bucher, the last British Commander-in-Chief, the Army’s leadership finally passed into Indian hands. This day is hence celebrated as Army Day. It was a significant milestone in India’s post-independence history, but, looking back decades later, it seems inexplicable that the 1947-48 war with Pakistan was fought with both sides having a British Commander-in-Chief!
The bravery and valour of the Indian soldier are also honoured on this day, alongside remembrance of those who sacrificed their lives for the safety and security of Bharat. Characteristically, the day features the Army Day Parade, held at the Parade Ground in Delhi Cantt. Since 2023, the Parade has moved to different parts of the country to increase public engagement across India, and has thus taken on a pan-India character.
This is also a time to reflect on the progress made in the Army’s modernisation, particularly in technology. The Army remains prepared to address the security threats that emerge from two hostile nations on our borders, China and Pakistan. Bangladesh has now been added to this, following the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina.
A notable feature of the Army’s modernisation has been the induction of the Pralay missile into operational service. Once induction is complete, it will significantly boost the Army’s capability on both hostile fronts.
Why is Pralay so significant? It is not just about the missile’s capability; it is also indigenous. The story of its development dates back to 1983 when the Integrated Missile Development Programme was launched. That programme led to the development of four missiles, Prithvi, Trishul, Akash and Nag. The Prithvi missile was a short-range tactical missile which was developed in three versions, Prithvi I, II and III, with ranges of 150 to 650 km. Gradually, Prithvi transitioned from liquid to solid propellant, with numerous other improvements. The need was then recognised for a road-mobile missile with greater technological capability. That led to the development of Prahar, a road-mobile tactical ballistic missile with a range of 125-200 km, which used both high-explosive (HE) fragmentation warhead and HE sub-munition (cluster) warhead with solid explosive bomblets. The next stage was the development of the Pralay missile. After many years of development, the final validation of the project took place on 31 December 2025, when the DRDO fired two back-to-back missiles from the same launcher, demonstrating its efficacy, reliability, and precision in a battlefield scenario.
Pralay is a conventional short-range quasi-ballistic missile that has caught the attention of the strategic community for several reasons. Its warhead is highly destructive; its guidance and navigation system provides a CEP of less than 10 metres; and its Mach 6.1 speed and manoeuvrability make it difficult to intercept, ensuring a high degree of certainty of hitting the target.
Depending on the mission requirement, it can use three types of warheads. The High Explosive Preformed Fragments (HEPF) warhead is intended for area targets, where the explosion causes extensive damage. The Penetration-cum-Blast warhead has a delayed fuse, and the explosion occurs after penetration is achieved, making it suitable for destroying underground bunkers and radar installations, such as command centres, power systems, and data links. Then there is the Runway Denial Warhead (Runway Denial Penetration Submunition – RDSP), designed for runways. The warhead disperses submunitions across a wide stretch of the runway, creating multiple craters that render the runway unusable, as seen during Operation Sindoor.
Pralay’s midcourse inertial navigation provides high accuracy. It is independent of GPS and can determine its motion, rotation, and location. In the terminal stage, it features an RF seeker with top-tier millimetre-wave radar technology. Its camera has digital scene matching and correlation. It is highly manoeuvrable and operates on an MRV-depressed trajectory (quasi-trajectory), making it highly unpredictable and difficult to intercept. As the missile is canisterised and road-mobile, it can be launched with minimal preparation and swiftly repositioned thereafter, increasing survivability and enhancing flexibility.[1]
When deployed on India’s western front, the entire geographical area of Pakistan comes within its ambit. Whether the target is a terrorist base or a military installation, the Pralay missile can engage it. Pakistan has limited defence capability against this missile due to its unpredictability during the terminal phase of its trajectory. As it is road-mobile, it offers significant deployment flexibility, making it extremely difficult to determine the missile’s position. This decreases its vulnerability to hostile action. Its high speed reduces the time available to intercept the missile. At lower altitudes, it can cover 500 km in just four minutes. The limited time window and the missile’s unpredictability make it difficult to locate, track, and intercept. As Pakistan lacks depth, its military infrastructure, including command-and-control centres, missile storage sites, logistics nodes, bridges, and air bases, will now be extremely vulnerable.
Presently, Pakistan lacks a counter to Pralay. Developing a similar missile would require an advanced terminal guidance capability and greater experience in manoeuvring re-entry vehicles. Pakistan’s Nasr missile has a limited range of 60-70 km. However, as it has a nuclear warhead, it is better suited to battlefield nuclear deterrence. Pakistan’s Abdali missile has a range of 200 km. Due to its older-generation INS guidance system, it has a relatively high CEP. In addition, Abdali’s conventional ballistic trajectory makes it very vulnerable to interception in a dense air-defence environment. With Pralay’s entry, the capability gap with Pakistan widens further.
The Pralay missile also alters the tactical and operational picture against China. China has deployed its DF-15 missile in the Tibetan Plateau. This missile, with a range of 600 km, is quasi-ballistic and carries both conventional and nuclear warheads. India had no comparable missile, giving China a significant advantage in the tactical and operational battlespace. However, once Pralay is inducted, India gets parity, and China’s significant advantage will no longer exist. The Pralay, with a range of 500 km, can target most PLA air bases, logistics nodes, and command-and-communication centres deep in Tibet, thereby increasing their vulnerability. India now has a non-nuclear deep-strike option, which can hit at the long supply lines in Tibet. China would now have to factor in the vulnerability of its rear area in any future conflict with India.
China’s integrated air defence system in Tibet primarily relies on the HQ-9 and HQ-16 surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, early-warning radars, and fighter cover from its airfields on the Tibetan plateau. The Chinese air defence system would find it difficult to intercept the Pralay, as it flies below optimal radar coverage, manoeuvres unpredictably, and its high speed and forward deployment reduce reaction time. This increases the missile’s survivability and enhances its hit probability.
As Operation Sindoor has shown, future conflicts will increasingly be fought at standoff ranges. The induction of Pralay is a significant step towards that end. On this Army Day, let us rededicate ourselves to the Army’s modernisation drive to ensure our borders remain safe and secure against all external threats. This is the most befitting tribute we can pay to all the soldiers who gave their lives for the country.
[1] https://bharatshakti.in/why-pralay-missile-is-a-game-changer-for-indian-army/
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