UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Preparing India for China’s missile challenge

Q1. China's PLA Rocket Force has positioned several missile types opposite India. Which one of the following is China's first operationally fielded missile specifically designed to carry a hypersonic glide vehicle (the DF-ZF)?

• A. DF-15B
• B. DF-16
• C. DF-17
• D. DF-21C

Q2. With reference to missile systems associated with China's PLA Rocket Force deployment against India, consider the following: 1. DF-26 — a long-range, dual-capable ballistic missile able to range across Indian territory from the Tibetan plateau. 2. DF-21C — a medium-range ballistic missile. 3. Agni-5 — a road-mobile missile held in the PLA Rocket Force inventory. 4. CJ-1000 — a long-range land-attack cruise missile. Which of the above is/are correctly identified as Chinese missile systems?

1. DF-26 — a long-range, dual-capable ballistic missile able to range across Indian territory from the Tibetan plateau.
2. DF-21C — a medium-range ballistic missile.
3. Agni-5 — a road-mobile missile held in the PLA Rocket Force inventory.
4. CJ-1000 — a long-range land-attack cruise missile.

• A. 1 and 3 only
• B. 2 and 4 only
• C. 1, 2 and 4
• D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q3. With reference to the Pralay missile compared with other Indian missiles, consider the following statements: 1. Unlike India's older Prithvi series, Pralay employs solid propellant. 2. Pralay follows a quasi-ballistic, manoeuvrable trajectory with mid-air course correction, unlike a purely ballistic missile. 3. Like the Agni-5, Pralay is designed to carry Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRVs). Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. Unlike India's older Prithvi series, Pralay employs solid propellant.
2. Pralay follows a quasi-ballistic, manoeuvrable trajectory with mid-air course correction, unlike a purely ballistic missile.
3. Like the Agni-5, Pralay is designed to carry Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRVs).

• A. 1 only
• B. 1 and 2 only
• C. 2 and 3 only
• D. 1, 2 and 3

Q4. With reference to the Pralay missile, consider the following statements: 1. It is developed by DRDO with Bharat Dynamics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited as production partners. 2. It has an operational range band of 150–500 km. 3. It attains a terminal speed of about Mach 6.1 with a Circular Error Probable of under 10 metres. 4. It is co-developed with Russia's NPO Mashinostroyenia under a bilateral joint venture. Which of the above is/are NOT correctly stated?

1. It is developed by DRDO with Bharat Dynamics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited as production partners.
2. It has an operational range band of 150–500 km.
3. It attains a terminal speed of about Mach 6.1 with a Circular Error Probable of under 10 metres.
4. It is co-developed with Russia's NPO Mashinostroyenia under a bilateral joint venture.

• A. 1 and 4
• B. 2 and 3
• C. 4 only
• D. 1, 2 and 4

Q5. India's first Agni-5 flight test with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology placed it among an exclusive set of states fielding MIRVs. Counting India itself, how many countries are recognised as possessing MIRV-capable missiles after this test?

• A. Exactly 4
• B. Exactly 5
• C. Exactly 6
• D. Exactly 7

Q6. With reference to states recognised as possessing Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology that India joined with its Agni-5 test, consider the following countries: 1. United Kingdom 2. France 3. China 4. Germany Which of the above is/are NOT correctly identified as a MIRV-possessing state?

1. United Kingdom
2. France
3. China
4. Germany

• A. 1 and 3
• B. 2 only
• C. 1, 2 and 3
• D. 4 only

Q7. With reference to hypersonic weapons, consider the following statements: 1. Hypersonic weapons are those capable of sustained flight at speeds of Mach 5 or greater. 2. A hypersonic glide vehicle is lofted by a rocket booster and thereafter glides unpowered through the upper atmosphere while manoeuvring. 3. A hypersonic cruise missile is powered for much of its flight by an air-breathing scramjet engine. 4. Russia's Avangard and the glide vehicle carried by China's DF-17 are examples of hypersonic glide systems. Which of the statements given above are correct?

1. Hypersonic weapons are those capable of sustained flight at speeds of Mach 5 or greater.
2. A hypersonic glide vehicle is lofted by a rocket booster and thereafter glides unpowered through the upper atmosphere while manoeuvring.
3. A hypersonic cruise missile is powered for much of its flight by an air-breathing scramjet engine.
4. Russia's Avangard and the glide vehicle carried by China's DF-17 are examples of hypersonic glide systems.

• A. 1 and 2 only
• B. 2, 3 and 4 only
• C. 1, 3 and 4 only
• D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q8. Which one of the following best describes India's proposed Integrated Rocket Force (IRF)?

• A. A dedicated command to operate conventional long-range precision missiles such as Pralay and BrahMos, with nuclear-armed missiles continuing under the Strategic Forces Command
• B. A command that would consolidate control of all of India's nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles under a single service
• C. The principal DRDO agency tasked with designing and producing India's ballistic missiles
• D. A ballistic-missile-defence command meant solely to intercept incoming Chinese missiles

Q9. The BrahMos cruise missile is the product of a joint venture between India's DRDO and which one of the following Russian entities?

• A. Almaz-Antey
• B. NPO Mashinostroyenia
• C. Rosoboronexport
• D. Tactical Missiles Corporation (KTRV)

Q10. When India acceded to the Missile Technology Control Regime in 2016, it joined as which numbered member of the grouping?

• A. 33rd
• B. 34th
• C. 35th
• D. 36th

Q11. In analyses of the India–China military balance, the term 'conventional missile asymmetry' most accurately refers to which one of the following?

• A. China's deployment of large numbers of long-range, non-nuclear precision missiles — with ranges far exceeding India's sub-500 km systems — capable of striking Indian targets below the nuclear threshold
• B. The gap between the two countries' stockpiles of nuclear warheads
• C. The difference in the number of ballistic-missile-defence interceptor batteries each side deploys
• D. The imbalance in troops and artillery massed along the Line of Actual Control