Consider the following statements:
- 1.Ballistic missiles are jet-propelled at subsonic speeds throughout their flights, while cruise missiles are rocket-powered only in the initial phase of flight.
- 2.Agni-V is a medium-range supersonic cruise missile, while BrahMos is a solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Neither statement is correct, because both swap the facts. Ballistic missiles are rocket-boosted and then coast on an arc, while cruise missiles fly under jet power. Agni-V is India's solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile, and BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile.
- ✗ 1. It is reversed. A ballistic missile has a short powered boost phase and then flies a mostly unpowered ballistic path, so it is not jet-propelled throughout. A cruise missile is normally powered by jet engines for most or all of its flight.
- ✗ 2. Again reversed. Agni-V is a three-stage solid-propellant Inter Continental Ballistic Missile with a range of over 5,000 km. BrahMos is a long-range supersonic cruise missile, launched from land, sea or air.
Remember · Ballistic: rocket boost, then unpowered arc. Cruise: jet-powered flight in the atmosphere. Agni-V is a solid-fuelled ICBM; BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile.
Sources
- National Cruise Missile Defense: Issues and Alternatives (Congressional Budget Office, US) ↗ “almost every type fielded to date has been powered by jet engines during most or all of its flight. This has distinguished cruise missiles from ballistic missiles, which fly a mostly unpowered ballistic trajectory after an initial, relatively short, powered boost phase.”
- Successful Test launch of AGNI V (Press Information Bureau, Government of India) ↗ “India successfully conducted the fourth and final experimental test of its indigenously developed Inter Continental Ballistic Missile, ICBM, Agni-V from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast”
- BrahMos (Defence Research and Development Organisation, Government of India) ↗ “BRAHMOS is a universal long range supersonic cruise missile system that can be launched from land, sea and air.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·