K-6 (missile)


K-6 is an intercontinental submarine-launched ballistic missile under development by the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India. The missile has a planned range of more than 8000 Kilometres.

History

The development of the K-6 missile, with a range of 6,000 km, was initially reported in early 2017.
Admiral Arun Prakash wrote in 2018 that the missile range of the Arihant-class submarines is not sufficient to target potential adversaries of India; a missile with a range of around 6,000-8,000 kilometres would be required for this task to be performed by a submarine patrolling in a "safe haven".
When the missile payload limitations of the Arihant-class were realised, India began developing the S5-class of submarines and the K-6 ballistic missiles. The developmental work for these missiles started in February 2017 at the Advanced Systems Laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, with a completion target of less than ten years.

Description

The K-6 is an intercontinental submarine-launched ballistic missile. It is a three-stage missile and is solid fuelled. It is planned to armed with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles and will have a range of around 8,000 to 12,000 kilometres with a three-tonne payload. It has a planned length of over 12 metres and a diameter of over 2 metres. It will be able carry both conventional and nuclear warheads.

Development

The K-6 is being developed by the Advanced Systems Laboratory of DRDO since 2017. Testing of the K-5 missile will assist in developing the K-6.