TRISHUL SAM

The Trishul (Trident) is a short range, quick reaction, all weather SAM designed to counter a low-level attack. It has been flight tested in the sea-skimming role and also against moving targets. It has a range of 9 km and is fitted with a 5.5 kg HE-fragmented warhead. It's detection of target to missile launch is around 6 seconds.

Trishul can engage targets like aircraft and helicopters, flying between 300 m/s and 500 m/s by using its radar command-to-line-of-sight guidance. It operates in the K-band (20 - 40 GHz), which makes it difficult to jam. In the K-band three-beam system, the missile is initially injected into a wide beam, which then hands it over to a medium beam, which passes over to a narrow beam, guiding it to the target.

The Trishul has high manoeuvrability and is powered by a two-stage solid propellant system, with a highly powered HTBP-type propellant similar to the ones used in the Patriot. It is constructed of maraging steel to withstand the stress. Successful flight trials in a tube launched mode using folded fins against balloons and Pilot-less Target Aircraft (PTA) targets were carried out.

One flight trial was guided throughout the trajectory using fixed line of sight and infra-red gathering guidance systems as per programmed flight. The army variant, Trishul Combat Vehicle (TCV), is based on a tracked BMP-1 vehicle and houses all equipment including radars, command-guidance system and missiles. The army variant is expected to enter service only in 2003. The air force variant differs only in the supporting ground-based platforms.

The naval variant has a sea-skimming capability and its launcher and surveillance radar have been fully tested, with its fire-control system under final evaluation. After a spate of unsuccessful tests, the naval variant was twice tested successfully in January 2002. While a major milestone for DRDO and the Trishul program, additional tests will be required before it can be cleared for operational use. The naval variant is not expected to enter service before 2003/2004. With the Trishul SAM, the Navy will get is first anti-missile capability.