AGNI 5 DRDO INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILE

Agni-V, the Big Daddy of Indian missiles is warming up for a possible ‘first strike,’ in February or March. Sources associated with Independent India’s longest kill-toy project told Express that all propulsion stages of the 5,000-plus-range, nuke-capable and near-Inter-continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) have been tested.

Agni-V is an intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India. It is part of the Agni series of missiles, one of the missile systems under the original Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme. It will greatly expand India's reach to strike targets at least 5,500 kilometres (3,400 mi) away. Chinese experts though, felt that the missile actually has the potential to reach targets 8,000 kilometres (5,000 mi) away and that the Indian government had "deliberately downplayed the missile's capability in order to avoid causing concern to other countries". The exact range of Agni-V is classified.

The launch is scheduled from the Wheeler Island, off Orissa Coast, and sources in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) confirm that the campaign has entered the near-mission mode phase. Notwithstanding the Red Dragon’s uneasiness over India’s killer-instinct moves with A-V’s pre-test propaganda, missile scientists are inspired by New Delhi’s desire to see the Big Daddy’s first target-Thandavam. (Note: The word Thandavam comes from Shiva Thandavam, a dance form linked to Hindu God Lord Shiva. It is widely believed that Thandavam represents both destruction & creation of the Universe and reveals the cycles of death and birth. The usage of target-Thandavam is to depict the possible destruction depths of the missile and should be seen as an innovative coinage of a phrase for convenient writing and not as making light of the might of Lord Shiva. |akm|)

Preparation for testing

The Indian defence minister A. K. Antony, addressing the annual DRDO awards ceremony, asked defence scientists to demonstrate the 5,000-kilometre (3,100 mi) missile's capability at the earliest opportunity.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 were over. In September 2011, Saraswat confirmed that the first test flight would be conducted in 2012 from Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast.
In February 2012, a source revealed that DRDO was almost ready for the test, but there were scheduling and logistical issues since the missile would be travelling 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, Indian Navy warships, with DRDO scientists and tracking and monitoring systems, would have to be positioned midway and near the impact point in the southern Indian Ocean.

Description

Propulsion

The Agni-V is a three stage solid fuelled missile with composite motor casing in the second and 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 significantly more to inter-continental range.
Total flight duration for the first flight test of Agni-V on 19th April 2012 was for 1130 seconds. The first stage ignited for 90 seconds.

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."The missile will utilise a canister and will be launched from it. Made of maraging steel, a canister must provide a hermetically sealed atmosphere that preserves the missile for years. During firing, the canister must absorb enormous stresses when a thrust of 300 to 400 tonnes (300 to 390 long tons; 330 to 440 short tons) is generated to eject the 50 tonnes (49 long tons; 55 short tons) missile.

MIRVs

Agni-V will feature Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicles (MIRVs) with each missile being capable of carrying 2–10 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. MIRVs ensure a credible second strike capability even with few missiles.