Project Devil

Project Devil was one of two early liquid-fueled missile projects developed by India, along with Project Valiant, in the 1970s. The goal of Project Devil was to produce a short-range surface-to-air missile. Although discontinued in 1980 without achieving full success, Project Devil, led to the later development of the Prithvi missile in the 1980s.

Both projects were overseen by the Defense Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL) of India, which had begun in 1958 with a specialization in anti-tank missiles but expanded in subsequent years. Project Devil was intended to be a short-range surface-to-air missile utilizing 3-ton engines. The model for Project Devil was the SA-2 Guideline, a Soviet Union missile which the DRDL intended to reverse engineer.

Project Devil was officially launched under V.S. Narayanan, who became director of the DRDL in January 1972. In June 1972, DRDL received 160 million rupees to fund both Project Devil and Project Valiant, though it came with a veil of secrecy; the Union Cabinet had publicly declined the funding request, but Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had granted it secretly through her discretionary powers. In turn, DRDL took pains to disguise the purpose of the funds so that their real work would not be immediately apparent. Project Devil specifically was given a budget of 50 million rupees to use within a three-year period. DLDR spent nearly half of the budget on importing equipment and supplies; it also subcontracted some of its labor, hiring the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited to cast a 350 kg magnesium liquid-fuel engine frame and a solid-booster rocket respectively. DRDL also began to expand rapidly, increasing its workforce from 400 to 2,500 people in a two-year period in an effort to meet staffing needs of both the projects.

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