Lankan Ranger
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India does not have an ICBM programme
With the 3500-km Agni-III all set for induction after three successful trials, India is gearing up to test its 5,000-km range Agni-V nuclear tipped missile in a year's time. However, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has clarified that it has no Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Programme.
The Agni-V, to be developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, has moved out of the drawing board and currently the technical evaluation of the sub-systems is being carried out, DRDO chief and scientific advisor to the Defence Minister V.K. Saraswat said.
"The first launch will be in an year's time, then a couple of tests and then we can think of induction. We are confident that the building blocks (for the Agni-III missiles) are in fairly matured stage," Saraswat told newsmen here after DRDOs successful test of Agni-III.
The three-stage missile will be similar to Agni-III in design and diameter, with its length five metres more than it. But Agni-V can carry a 1.5 ton nuclear warhead.
"Agni-III design is frozen... Agni-V has crossed material cutting stage and subsystem testing is going on. Agni-V is a derivative of Agni-III. Practically it is the same missile but it is five metres longer and one tonne heavier. Its navigation system is same.
"Sixty percent missile is available and we are just adding another stage. It will be a three-stage missile and it is the first time we will be building a three-stage missile," Saraswat pointed out.
The missile marks the near-culmination of the Agni series of strategic missile programme, and Saraswat said that DRDO does not have any plans to make a full fledged Intercontinental Ballistic Missile.
Agni-V is 5,000 km plus range. The range is adequate for our strategic needs. We do not have ICBM programme. Our threat mitigation demands this range, said Saraswat.
It may be noted that DRDO gets into a research programme after indications from the government about the threat perceptions and the need for dissuasive diplomacy and deterrence to ward off hostile elements around India. Privately, Indian scientists say that propulsion is not much of a problem and the requirement for long-range precision has also been addressed more or less. All programmes need to be tweaked with more tests and experience, but what the DRDO eventually undertakes and develops is in accordance with government directives.
There is not specific directive for an ICBM, a missile with or in excess of 5,500 km. Agni-V will be a quantum jump though as not many countries have home-grown ballistic missile technology for this range.
The DRDO has been able to set its eye on Agni-V as Agni-III, with its range of 3,500 km, is ready for induction after successful trial conducted by the Strategic Forces Command, the user, on Feb 7.
Programme director Avinash Chander said: "Agni-III has completed three successful trials. Now we can start doing the induction process. It is 100 percent indigenous with more than 80 percent coming from the Indian industries."
Saraswat said the technology of Agni-III is better than that of China in terms of accuracy. The Agni-III system is rail-mobile, like Agni-II. The future 5,000-km-range missile is planned to be road-mobile. That gives it immunity from vulnerability. The second thing is that it can reach targets that no aircraft can reach.
The Agni-III missile system has state-of-the-art inertial guidance, highly accurate sensors with high immunity from jamming. It has no communication with the ground once it takes off, so you cannot jam its electronics.
China had only one missile in the 2500-km category, the DF-21 and was now focused only on building intercontinental range missiles (ICBMs) of the DF-31 and DF-41 in the 6000- 10,000 km range.
Both stages of Agni-III are powered by solid propellants. It is 17 metres long, has a diameter of two metres and a launch weight of 50 tonnes. It can carry payloads weighing 1.5 tonnes.
The first test, from the same defence base on July 9, 2006, was unsuccessful. The second stage of the rocket had failed to separate from the missile quickly enough and the missile had fallen short of its target.
The DRDO-developed missile was tested again on April 12, 2007 and May 9, 2008, and both the tests were successful.
Agni-III, one of the Agni series missiles, has a length of 17 metres, a diameter of 2 metres and a launch weight of 50 tonnes.
Agni-III has been an important programme, primarily because the Agni-I and Agni-II systems were an extension of technologies we were using since the 1970s. They had virtually reached the limit of their capabilities. Agni-I has a 700-km range, which can be extended with minor modifications. Agni-II has a 2,000-km limit.
The DRDO began real work on Agni-III only in 2001. It was the first time that the DRDO had taken up fabrication of such large rocket motors - two metres in diameter, with about 30 tonnes of solid propellants in the first stage and nine tonnes in the second stage. It had flexible nozzle control, which no other country had used for the first stage, during the atmospheric phase of the flight.
The payload re-entry itself was a challenge because its velocity was five metres a second with a very steep re-entry lasting not more than 20 to 25 seconds, ambient temperatures going to 4,000°Celsius, skin temperatures reaching 2,500°Celsius and the deceleration going down anywhere between 30 g and 16 g. So, the whole environment was totally different from that of even Agni-II.
The successful Agni series missiles have given India anti-satellite capability, but the DRDO said it would not demonstrate it by hitting a real satellite.
Saraswat, asserted that India had the building blocks ready for anti-satellite capability.
"With the successful testing of Agni-III, we have the propulsion system which can be used to propel a kill vehicle in the orbit. We have the capability required to guide a kill vehicle towards the satellite," he said.
"We have the capability for interception of satellite. But we do not have to test because it is not our primary objective. There are repercussions of satellite interception like debris flying in the space.
"Today we can validate the anti-satellite technology on ground through simulation. There will be no direct hit of satellite. If the nation wants, we can have it ready," Saraswat added.
..:: India Strategic ::.. Missiles: India does not have an ICBM programme
With the 3500-km Agni-III all set for induction after three successful trials, India is gearing up to test its 5,000-km range Agni-V nuclear tipped missile in a year's time. However, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has clarified that it has no Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Programme.
The Agni-V, to be developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, has moved out of the drawing board and currently the technical evaluation of the sub-systems is being carried out, DRDO chief and scientific advisor to the Defence Minister V.K. Saraswat said.
"The first launch will be in an year's time, then a couple of tests and then we can think of induction. We are confident that the building blocks (for the Agni-III missiles) are in fairly matured stage," Saraswat told newsmen here after DRDOs successful test of Agni-III.
The three-stage missile will be similar to Agni-III in design and diameter, with its length five metres more than it. But Agni-V can carry a 1.5 ton nuclear warhead.
"Agni-III design is frozen... Agni-V has crossed material cutting stage and subsystem testing is going on. Agni-V is a derivative of Agni-III. Practically it is the same missile but it is five metres longer and one tonne heavier. Its navigation system is same.
"Sixty percent missile is available and we are just adding another stage. It will be a three-stage missile and it is the first time we will be building a three-stage missile," Saraswat pointed out.
The missile marks the near-culmination of the Agni series of strategic missile programme, and Saraswat said that DRDO does not have any plans to make a full fledged Intercontinental Ballistic Missile.
Agni-V is 5,000 km plus range. The range is adequate for our strategic needs. We do not have ICBM programme. Our threat mitigation demands this range, said Saraswat.
It may be noted that DRDO gets into a research programme after indications from the government about the threat perceptions and the need for dissuasive diplomacy and deterrence to ward off hostile elements around India. Privately, Indian scientists say that propulsion is not much of a problem and the requirement for long-range precision has also been addressed more or less. All programmes need to be tweaked with more tests and experience, but what the DRDO eventually undertakes and develops is in accordance with government directives.
There is not specific directive for an ICBM, a missile with or in excess of 5,500 km. Agni-V will be a quantum jump though as not many countries have home-grown ballistic missile technology for this range.
The DRDO has been able to set its eye on Agni-V as Agni-III, with its range of 3,500 km, is ready for induction after successful trial conducted by the Strategic Forces Command, the user, on Feb 7.
Programme director Avinash Chander said: "Agni-III has completed three successful trials. Now we can start doing the induction process. It is 100 percent indigenous with more than 80 percent coming from the Indian industries."
Saraswat said the technology of Agni-III is better than that of China in terms of accuracy. The Agni-III system is rail-mobile, like Agni-II. The future 5,000-km-range missile is planned to be road-mobile. That gives it immunity from vulnerability. The second thing is that it can reach targets that no aircraft can reach.
The Agni-III missile system has state-of-the-art inertial guidance, highly accurate sensors with high immunity from jamming. It has no communication with the ground once it takes off, so you cannot jam its electronics.
China had only one missile in the 2500-km category, the DF-21 and was now focused only on building intercontinental range missiles (ICBMs) of the DF-31 and DF-41 in the 6000- 10,000 km range.
Both stages of Agni-III are powered by solid propellants. It is 17 metres long, has a diameter of two metres and a launch weight of 50 tonnes. It can carry payloads weighing 1.5 tonnes.
The first test, from the same defence base on July 9, 2006, was unsuccessful. The second stage of the rocket had failed to separate from the missile quickly enough and the missile had fallen short of its target.
The DRDO-developed missile was tested again on April 12, 2007 and May 9, 2008, and both the tests were successful.
Agni-III, one of the Agni series missiles, has a length of 17 metres, a diameter of 2 metres and a launch weight of 50 tonnes.
Agni-III has been an important programme, primarily because the Agni-I and Agni-II systems were an extension of technologies we were using since the 1970s. They had virtually reached the limit of their capabilities. Agni-I has a 700-km range, which can be extended with minor modifications. Agni-II has a 2,000-km limit.
The DRDO began real work on Agni-III only in 2001. It was the first time that the DRDO had taken up fabrication of such large rocket motors - two metres in diameter, with about 30 tonnes of solid propellants in the first stage and nine tonnes in the second stage. It had flexible nozzle control, which no other country had used for the first stage, during the atmospheric phase of the flight.
The payload re-entry itself was a challenge because its velocity was five metres a second with a very steep re-entry lasting not more than 20 to 25 seconds, ambient temperatures going to 4,000°Celsius, skin temperatures reaching 2,500°Celsius and the deceleration going down anywhere between 30 g and 16 g. So, the whole environment was totally different from that of even Agni-II.
The successful Agni series missiles have given India anti-satellite capability, but the DRDO said it would not demonstrate it by hitting a real satellite.
Saraswat, asserted that India had the building blocks ready for anti-satellite capability.
"With the successful testing of Agni-III, we have the propulsion system which can be used to propel a kill vehicle in the orbit. We have the capability required to guide a kill vehicle towards the satellite," he said.
"We have the capability for interception of satellite. But we do not have to test because it is not our primary objective. There are repercussions of satellite interception like debris flying in the space.
"Today we can validate the anti-satellite technology on ground through simulation. There will be no direct hit of satellite. If the nation wants, we can have it ready," Saraswat added.
..:: India Strategic ::.. Missiles: India does not have an ICBM programme
