STAR Supersonic Target Missile increases India training realism

The native Indian supersonic target missile, STAR is transforming the way the military is planning against high-speed attacks. STAR was meant to simulate modern cruise- and anti-ship missile signatures, and is capable of reaching Mach 1.8 to 2.5, offering realistic and high-stress training conditions to hone the detection, tracking and interception capabilities of the three services.

Status and trials Development status and trials

Towards mid-2025 STAR Phase-III development started, with complete prototypes being put through integrated propulsion, guidance and control system trials. Its maneuvering envelope and mission-profiles have now been confirmed in combat-representative flight tests, which have paved the way to its operational use in joint exercises by the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Key technical features

STAR uses a two-phase propulsion scheme, with a solid rocket booster to provide high-level launch acceleration with a liquid-fuel ramjet (LFRJ) to maintain supersonic level cruise. It is capable of performing diverse missions - sea-skimming at a height of about 12 feet of waves, steep terminal dives up to 10 km of altitude and it has a range of 55 km-175 km to allow flexing on range and time-on-target to suit various training requirements.

Types and uses of operation.

There are two main versions when it comes to training needs. The air-launched model, with fits in the combat aircraft like LCA Tejas, simulates airborne cruise and anti-radar threat, including the anti-AWACS or anti-ship missile. The ground-launched model is truck-mounted to launch rapidly in a dispersed manner along a shoreline or an inland range to support Navy and Army live-fire drills.

Strategic implications

A reusable, modular design decreases cost of training and dependency on foreign target systems with the help of STAR. It has also contributed to the growth of domestic capabilities in ramjet propulsion and super-fast guidance which would be applicable to future combat missiles. The system is consistent with the push of India towards defence self-sufficiency and increases realistic, combined tri-service preparedness to supersonic threats.

Outlook

It is set to become a common element of large-scale exercises as STAR nears induction and be the provider of more advanced integrated air-defence and naval training. Further iterations may broaden its simulation arsenal and knowledge base the future generation missile systems.