INTRODUCTION
The KALI - Kilo Ampere Linear Injector could also be a linear collider being developed in India by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). It is a Directed-energy weapon designed to figure in such how that if an enemy missile is launched towards India, it'll quickly emit powerful pulses of the Relativistic electron beam and destroy the target.
Experts point out that it can potentially be used as a beam weapon Bursts of microwaves packed with giga-watts of power produced by this machine when aimed at enemy missiles and aircraft, will cripple their electronic system and computer chip-sand bring them down right away.
KALI is India’s answer to any uninvited incoming enemy satellites, UAVs, missiles, and aircraft In this article, Defense Talks analysis, how India would fry Pakistani and Chinese missile & aircraft with a secret weapon - KALI? Let’s get into details.
BACKGROUND
The Kali project was and mooted in 1985, work on the Project began in 1989, being developed by the Accelerators & Pulse Power Division of the BARC. DRDO has additionally involved this project. It had been initially developed for industrial applications, although defense applications became clearer later.
The primary accelerators had an influence of ~0 4GW, which increased as later versions were developed. These were the KALI-80, KALI-200, KALI-1000, KALI-5000 and KALI-10000 The KALI-5000 was commissioned to be used in late 2004. The power of KALI-10000 has been kept under wraps. It is unclear if India has developed even more powerful versions or not.
DESIGN
KALI is a particle accelerator. It emits powerful pulses of electrons (Relativistic Electron Beams- REB). Other components within the machine down the road convert the electron energy into EM Radiation, which can be adjusted to x-ray (as Flash X-Rays) or microwave (High Power Microwave) frequencies.
The KALI series (KALI-80, KALI-200, KALI-1000, KALI-5000 and KALI-10000) of accelerator sare described as "Single Shot Pulsed Giga-watt Electron Accelerators”. They're single-shot devices, using water-filled capacitors to make the charge energy The discharge is within the range of 1GW Initially starting with 0.4GW power, present accelerators are able to reach 40GW, Pulse time is about 60 ns.
The Microwave radiations emitted by the KALI-5000 are in the 3–5 GHz Range KALI – 5000 system is designed to supply electron pulses of about 100 ns with an energy of about 1 MeV, current 40 kA and influence of 40 GW. This Relativistic Electron Beams (REB), thus generated are going to be used for the generation of High Power Microwaves (HPM) & Flash X Rays (FXR).
CURRENT KNOWN USAGE
The DRDO is involved in configuring the KALI for its use and has been deployed in many scenarios. The X-rays emitted are being used in Ballistics research as an illuminator for ultrahigh-speed photography by the Terminal Ballistics Research Institute (TBRL).
Microwave emissions are used for EM Research The microwave-producing version of KALI has also been employed by the DRDO scientists for testing the vulnerability of the electronic systems of India’s indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), which was then under development.
It has also helped in designing electrostatic shields to "harden” Light Combat Aircraft and missiles from microwave attack by the enemy, also as protecting satellites against deadly Electromagnetic Impulses (EMI) generated by nuclear weapons and other cosmic disturbances, which could destroy electronic circuits.
Readers may note that electronic components currently used in missiles can withstand fields of approx 300 V/cm, while the fields in case of EMI attack reach thousands of V/cm.
USAGE AS A WEAPON
The characteristic of the KALI gives it the potential to be used as a weapon. KALI could be deployed as a High-Power Microwave gun, which could destroy incoming missiles and aircraft through the soft-kill approach.
It may be integrated with powerful radar systems that will track enemy crafts. However, weaponizing such a system has many obstacles to overcome. Indian authorities have been tight-lipped regarding this Since secrecy has been maintained about the system, many experts think that the system has already been weaponized.
Readers may note that in general the most advance systems are well guarded. The main advantages of Kali are as follows:
1. Low cost per shot, as each firing of the weapon, requires only the minimal cost of generating the energetic pulse; by contrast ordnance for projectile weapons must be designed, manufactured, handled, transported and maintained.
2. Another important aspect is that ships /planes can carry a hard and fast number of projectile-based weapons as they take up space, so they can take out only those number of targets at max But KALI can be used repeatedly.
3. According to independent analysts, the KALI could be even deadlier than laser weapons as it could be more apt in penetrating external surfaces of incoming projectiles.
ANALYSIS
India has No First Use of Nuclear Weapons policy. Hence, it needs a defensive system toward a pre-emptive strike by its enemy. This is where KALI could be most well-utilized. India is planning to have an Integrated Air Defense Weapon System (IADWS) to protect the important cities of the country starting with the capital of India - New Delhi.
The proposed multilayer arrangement will consist of the following:
1. The outermost layer of the missile shield will consist of a two-tier ballistic missile defense (BMD) system developed by India's state-run DRDO or Defence Research and Development Organisation. The two-tiered BMD System consists of the PAD (Prithvi Air Defense), which will intercept missiles at exo-atmospheric altitudes of 50 to 80 km or 31 to 50 mi and the AAD (Advanced Air Defense) missile for an interception at endo-atmospheric altitudes of up to 30 km or 19 miles.
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| Prithvi Air Defense |
The BMD system uses the Swordfish radar Swordfish is an Indian active electronically scanned array (AESA) long-range tracking radar specifically developed track ballistic missiles. It can spot objects as small as a cricket ball (3-inches in diameter) at ranges of up to 500 mi or 800 km As per reports, the process is going on to increase the range of radar to around 950 miles or 1,500 km.
2. The middle layer will be the Russian made S-400 system. S-400 Triumph is an anti-aircraft weapon system developed by Russia’s Almaz Central Design Bureau in the 1990s as an upgrade of the S-300 family. It has been in service with the Russian armed forces since 2007.
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| S-400 system |
It is designed to defend against aircraft including 5th generation stealth fighters, bombers, AWACS, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. The radars of S-400 have a range of around 600 km or around 370 miles.
The main radar is complimented by target acquisition radars some of which are touted to have the ability to detect stealth aircraft S-400 deploys multiple missiles to cover its strike envelope and can hit targets at a range of up to 400 km or 250 miles India has inked a deal with Russia to get 5 regiments of S-400, the contract is worth 5.5 Billion USD. The delivery is expected to commence by the end f this year.
3. The innermost layer of protection will be through NASAMS-II. We will now check the capabilities of NASAMS-II. It a likely that a system like KALI will be added to this kind of layered defense system to protect important infrastructure and strategic assets.
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