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Agni-V

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Agni-V
TypeIntercontinental ballistic missile[1][2]
Place of origin India
Service history
In service2014[3] (Under development) [4]
Used byIndian Army
Production history
ManufacturerDefence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO),
Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL)
Specifications
Mass50,000 kg[5]
Length17.5 m [6]
Diameter2 m
Maximum firing range6,000 kilometres (3,700 mi)[7]
WarheadNuclear
Warhead weight1.1 ton/1000 kg[8]
EngineThree stage solid
Operational
range
Over 5,500 kilometres (3,400 mi)[1][7]
Launch
platform
8 x 8 Tatra TELAR (Transporter erector launcher) & Rail Mobile Launcher (canisterized missile package[9])
TransportRoad mobile
Further information: Agni missile system

Agni-V is a solid fueled intercontinental ballistic missile under development by DRDO of India. It will greatly expand India's reach to strike targets well beyond 5,500 km away.[1][2][7] Missile tests are expected to begin in April 2012.[10]

Introduction

Dr M Natrajan, a senior defense scientist of India, disclosed in 2007 that DRDO is working on an upgraded version of the Agni III known as the Agni-V (Earlier known as Agni-III* and Agni-IV) and that it will be ready in 4 years.[11] The missile will have a range of about 6,000 km[12].

The armed forces are already inducting the two-stage 3,500-km Agni-III after completion of its developmental and pre-induction trials last year, having earlier operationalised the Agni-I (700-km) and Agni-II (over 2,000-km) missiles.

It will be quite easy to store and swiftly transport the missile by road since it's a canister-launch missile system, unlike the earlier Agni missiles.[6]

Agni-V would also carry MIRV (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles) payloads being concurrently developed. A single MIRVed missile can deliver multiple warheads at different targets.

With a "launch mass" of around 50 tonne and a development cost of over Rs 2,500 crore, Agni-V will incorporate advanced technologies involving ring laser gyroscope and accelerometer for navigation and guidance. It takes its first stage from Agni-III, with a modified second stage and a miniaturized third stage to ensure it can fly to distances of 5,000 km. With a canister-launch system to impart higher road mobility, the missile will give the armed forces much greater operational flexibility than the earlier-generation of Agni missiles. "The accuracy levels of Agni-V and the 3,500-km Agni-IV (first tested in November 2011), with their better guidance and navigation systems, are far higher than Agni-I (700-km), Agni-II (2,000-km) and Agni-III (3,000-km), said the source.[13]

The nuclear-capable Agni-V will be operational by 2014-2015 after four to five repeatable tests by the DRDO.[13]

Indian authorities believe that the solid-fuelled Agni-V is "more than adequate" to meet current threat perceptions and security concerns. The missile will bring the whole of Asia, including the northernmost parts of China, 70% of Europe and other regions under its strike envelope.[13]

Preparation for testing

The defence minister A K Antony, addressing the annual DRDO awards ceremony, asked defense scientists to "demonstrate" the 6,000-km missile's capability "at the earliest".[6]

DRDO chief V K Saraswat told Times of India in mid-2011 that DRDO has tested the three solid-propellant composite rocket motor stages of Agni-V independently and all ground tests are now over. The integration process is now in progress and the missile was to be testede in December 2011.

In September 2011, DRDO Chief V.K. Saraswat confirmed that the first test flight will be conducted in 2012.[14] India has begun final preparations for the first test of its most-ambitious strategic missile, the 5,000-km Agni-V, which will prove to be both a technical as well as logistical challenge. It will be tested from Wheeler Island off the Orissa coast towards end-March to early-April, top defence sources said.[13][15][16]

According to a source, "DRDO is almost ready for the test. There are no technical glitches or problems. It's more of a scheduling and logistical issue now since the missile will travel halfway across the Indian Ocean. Countries like Indonesia and Australia as well as international air and maritime traffic in the test zone will have to be alerted a week or 10 days before the test. Moreover, our warships, with DRDO scientists, tracking and monitoring systems, will have to be positioned midway and near the impact point in southern Indian Ocean," [13]

The missile is likely to be test-fired for the first time in the second or third week of April 2012.[17]

Description

Agni missile range.

Propulsion

The Agni-V is a three stage solid fueled missile with composite motor casing in the third stage. In many aspects, the Agni-5 carries forward the Agni-3 pedigree. With composites used extensively to reduce weight, and a third stage added on (the Agni-3 was a two-stage missile), the Agni-5 can fly 1,500 km further than the 3,500 km range Agni-III.[18][19] Two stages of this missile will be made of composite material.[20] Advanced technologies like ring laser gyroscope and accelerometer will be used in the new missile.[21] "You can reduce the payload and (further) increase the range of Agni-V" Saraswat told the Reuters in Feb 2010.[22]

Mobility

"The Agni-5 is specially tailored for road-mobility," explains Avinash Chander, Director, ASL. "With the canister having been successfully developed, all India's future land-based strategic missiles will be canisterised as well".[18] The missile will utilize a canister and will be launched from it. Made of maraging steel, a canister must provide a hermitically sealed atmosphere that preserves the missile for years. During firing, the canister must absorb enormous stresses when a thrust of 300 to 400 tonnes is generated to eject the 50-tonne missile.[18]

MIRVs

Agni-V will feature Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicles (MIRVs) with each missile being capable of carrying 3-10 separate nuclear warheads. Each warhead can be assigned to a different target, separated by hundreds of kilometres; alternatively, two or more warheads can be assigned to one target.[18] MIRVs ensure a credible second strike capability even with few missiles.

Agni-V SLBM

See also: K Missile family

There have been reports that a submarine launched version of the Agni 5 is being worked on. However some experts have raised questions about the utility of such a design for the contemporary requirements of the Indian Navy, calling the reports nothing but "myths".[citation needed]

See also

Related development

Related lists

References

  1. ^ a b c "Eyeing China, India to enter ICBM club in 3 months". The Times of India. Nov 17, 2011.
  2. ^ a b "With Russian help, India to enter ICBM club soon". Dailypioneer. Oct 8, 2011.
  3. ^ "DRDO Lab Develops Detonator for Nuclear Capable Agni-V Missile As It Gets Ready For Launch". Defencenow. January 17, 2012.
  4. ^ "Agni V test depends on prime success". IBNLive. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
  5. ^ Preparations apace for Agni V launch
  6. ^ a b c "DRDO plans to test 10 missiles this year". The Times of India. Jan 27, 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  7. ^ a b c "Agni-4/5". Missile Threat. 19 July 2010.
  8. ^ Agni-V getting ready for launch
  9. ^ Y. Mallikarjun, Agni-V design completed; to be test-fired in 2010, The Hindu, 27 November 2008
  10. ^ First test of nuclear missile Agni-V in a fortnight: DRDO chief
  11. ^ Press Trust of India. "Next variant of Agni to be inducted within 4 years: Scientist". Retrieved 2007-09-26. [dead link]
  12. ^ "Dont even think about it". Foreign-policy. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  13. ^ a b c d e Rajat, Pandit (Feb 24, 2012). "Decks cleared for first test of 5000-km range Agni-V missile". Times of India. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  14. ^ Agni-5 demo in February 2012
  15. ^ http://tribune.com.pk/story/336855/india-to-test-new-long-range-missile-official/ Tribune news article
  16. ^ http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012%5C02%5C16%5Cstory_16-2-2012_pg7_6 Daily Times news article
  17. ^ First test of nuclear missile Agni-V in a fortnight: DRDO chief
  18. ^ a b c d "What makes 5000 km range Agni-5 missile deadlier - Rediff.com India News". News.rediff.com. 2009-10-12. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  19. ^ DRDO readying design for 5,000 km-range Agni-V
  20. ^ DRDO to make missiles lighter, cost-effective
  21. ^ Agni-V design completed; to be test-fired in 2010
  22. ^ "India to test 8000-km Agni-V missile within year". Reuters. 2010-02-10. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help) [dead link]
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