KALI (electron accelerator)

The KALI (Kilo Ampere Linear Injector) is a linear electron accelerator being developed in India by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). It is a Directed-energy weapon designed to work in such a way that if an enemy missile is launched towards India, it will quickly emit powerful pulses of Relativistic electron beam and destroy the target. Unlike laser beams, it does not bore a hole in the target but thoroughly damages the on-board electronic systems.

Scientists say that it can potentially be used as a beam weapon. Bursts of microwaves packed with gigawatts of power produced by this machine, when aimed at enemy missiles and aircraft will cripple their electronic system and computer chips and bring them down right away.

Overview

The Kali is a particle accelerator. It emits powerful pulses of electrons (Relativistic Electron Beams- REB). Other components in the machine down the line convert the electron energy into EM Radiation, which can be adjusted to x-ray (as Flash X-Rays) or microwave (High Power Microwave) frequencies.

This has fueled hopes that the KALI could, one day be used in a High-Power Microwave gun, which could destroy incoming missiles and aircraft through soft-kill (destroying the electronic circuitry on the missile). However, weaponising such a system has many obstacles to overcome.

History

The project was first Founded by Dr. P.H. Ron, and mooted in 1985 by the then Director of the BARC, Dr. R. Chidambaram. Work on the Project began in 1989, being developed by the Accelerators & Pulse Power Division of the BARC. (Dr. Chidambaram was also the Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister, and the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission). DRDO is also involved with this project. It was initially developed for industrial applications, although defence applications became clearer later.[1]

The first accelerators had a power 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 for use in late 2004.[2]

Applications

The KALI has been put to various uses by the DRDO. The DRDO was involved in configuring the KALI for their use.

The X-rays emitted are being used in Ballistics research as an illuminator for ultrahigh speed photography by the Terminal Ballistics Research Institute (TBRL) in Chandigarh. The Microwave emissions are used for EM Research.

The microwave-producing version of KALI has also been used by the DRDO scientists for testing the vulnerability of the electronic systems of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), which was then under development.

It has also helped in designing electrostatic shields to "harden" the LCA and missiles from microwave attack by the enemy as well as protecting satellites against deadly Electromagnetic Impulses (EMI) generated by nuclear weapons and other cosmic disturbances, which "fry" and destroy electronic circuits. 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.

As a Weapon

Weaponisation of the KALI will take some time. The system is still under development, and efforts are being made to make it more compact as well as improve its recharge time, which, at the present, makes it only a single use system.

There are also issues with creating a complete system, which would require development of many more components. There have been reports of placing the weaponized KALI in an Il-76 aircraft as an airborne defence system.

References
  1. "India to test beam weapon". Competition Science Journal. Mahendra Jain. October 1999 (20): 980–981. 1999.
  2. BARC Director's speech on October 29 2004 celebrating Dr. Homi Bhabha's 95th Birth Anniversary
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