JOIN USHypersonic reusable missile is the future, Kalam tells scientists
“Today, even a Mach-II fighter costs Rs 200 crore. So, we should not continue spending money on making missiles again and again.”
Speaking at the inauguration of the Centre of Excellence in High Speed Aerodynamics, opened by the Indo-Russian joint venture company BrahMos Aerospace at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), he said the centre must aim at making a Mach 8 or 10 re-usable missile by 2020.
Kalam said: “The centre will bring together the strength of BrahMos and IISc with the mission to promote development of world-class systems and technology, which is a significant step towards development of the nation.”
He said India needs to focus on developing its forces to cope with the network-centric warfare. “Our chiefs must make complete use of simulators and train in virtual reality spaces,” he added. It is noteworthy that missiles play an important role in network-centric warfare.
A S Pillai, BrahMos Aerospace Chief Executive Officer, said: “This will lead to the development of the advanced BrahMos-II missile system and reusable hypersonic vehicles for space missions.”
Kalam also inaugurated the Robert Bosch Center for Research in Cyber Physical Systems at IISc. Speaking there, he said in a decade or so, all the vehicles on the road would run on bio-diesel and that Bosch should, thereby, develop appropriate fuel injection systems.
He said a litre of fossil fuel going into a vehicle generates 2.5-kg of carbon-di-oxide (CO2), In this way, about 30 billion tonne of CO2 is generated per day across the globe.
The dependency on fossil fuels should be reduced by trying other mechanisms, he said.
Nuclear plant
Kalam, in reply to a question, said he supported the proposed nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu not with an intention to stop the ongoing protest against the controversial project.
He said residents of all the 10-odd villages which would be affected by the nuclear plant must be taken into confidence and they should be given employment opportunities. The entire region should be developed as a knowledge hub.