Agni II

RAM

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Agni-II being readied for launch


Preparations are under way for the launch of India’s Agni-II ballistic missile from the Wheeler Island, off the Orissa coast, on November 6. “We are aiming for a launch on November 6. It will be a repeat firing to establish the reliability of Agni-II’s systems,” a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) official said.

Agni-II is an intermediate range ballistic missile built by the DRDO. It has two stages, both powered by solid propellants. It can reach targets 2,500 km away and carry nuclear warheads. The missile is 20 metres long and weighs 17 tonnes. It can carry payloads weighing one tonne. The missile’s re-entry vehicle is made of carbon-composites. Agni-II has been designed and developed by the Advanced Systems Laboratory, a missile facility of DRDO, situated at Hyderabad.

The DRDO will be launching a series of missiles including that of an interceptor missile, K-15 underwater missile and Shourya missile, the K-15’s land version, in the next few months. The K-15 missile will be fired from a submerged pontoon off the Visakhapatnam coast of Andhra Pradesh.

Keywords: Agni-II, ballistic missile, Wheeler Island, Orissa, Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO, nuclear, warheads

The Hindu : News / National : Agni-II being readied for launch
 

Chota

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Agni-II may be launched tomorrow

The Hindu : News / National : Agni-II may be launched tomorrow

Conflicting reports. Test Fire tommorrow !! ;-) The-Hindu/T.S. Subramanian are highly trustworthy sources

Preparations are under way for the launch of India’s Agni-II ballistic missile from Wheeler Island, off the Orissa coast, on Friday.

“We are aiming for a launch on November 6 [Friday]. It will be a repeat firing to establish the reliability of Agni-II’s systems,” a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) official said.

The Agni-II is an intermediate range ballistic missile built by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It has two stages, both powered by solid propellants.

It can reach targets 2,500 km away and carry nuclear warheads. The missile is 20 metre long and weighs 17 tonnes. It can carry payloads weighing one tonne.

The missile’s re-entry vehicle is made of carbon composites. The Agni-II has been designed and developed by the Hyderabad-based Advanced Systems Laboratory, a DRDO missile facility.

In the next few months, the DRDO will be launching a series of missiles, including an interceptor missile, K-15 underwater missile and Shourya missile, the land version of the K-15.

The K-15 missile will be fired from a submerged pontoon off the Visakhapatnam coast of Andhra Pradesh.
 

Chota

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There are some conflicting reports on the test. IE and TOI are saying that the test is postponed by a week or may be even further. Hindu says its tomorrow. Hindu has always been credible with its reporting

Let wait and see what happens tomorrow.
 

RAM

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Nuke-capable Agni-II to be tested during night

India is likely to test its nuclear capable Agni-II Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) for the first time during night, defence officials said here on Sunday. The trial is expected to be conducted from the Wheelers Island off Orissa coast tomorrow, they said.

“Range integration work in Integrated Test Range (ITR) for the proposed trial has been completed and if final check-up in the sub-system of the missile is found flawless, the mission will be taken up tomorrow,” the officials said.

A special ‘strategic forces team’ raised by the Army would conduct the trial with necessary logistic support by various ITR laboratories and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists.

The indigenously built weapon is a two-stage solid propelled ballistic missile and has a weight of 17 tonnes and length of 20 metres. It can carry a payload of one tonne over a distance of 2,000 km.

Agni-II was developed by Advanced Systems Laboratory along with other DRDO laboratories and integrated with Bharat Dynamics Ltd, Hyderabad with the private sector participating in a big way in its production.

The missile is part of the Agni series which included Agni-I (700 km range) and Agni-III (3,500 km range). Agni-I was already inducted and Agni-III is in the process of induction, the officials added.

Agni-II was developed by Advanced Systems Laboratory along with other DRDO laboratories and integrated with Bharat Dynamics Ltd, Hyderabad with the private sector participating in a big way in its production.

The missile was already inducted into the services and the strategic command network is in charge of the missiles operation

The Hindu : News / National : Nuke-capable Agni-II to be tested during night
 

Rage

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Ah! What significance does this have given that the Man mohan Singh is in the US and is lobbying for some big-bomba arms deals. May we live in interesting times indeed!

The rumour is that the Defence Research and Devlpt. Organization and Bharat Dynamics Limited are perfecting "sophisticated on-board packages" including 'advanced communications' on board the Agni-II with the MIL-STD-1553, integrated HAM and small velocity correction, INS and control system packages, and an improved optical or radar terminal phase correlation system for more accurate suborbital insertion. Apparently, the Agni-RV Mk.2 is more advanced than first generation western RVs, because it embodies proposition, navigation and control all the way to the target and CEP reduction.

I've always wondered whether and when the Agni-II would be made MIRV-capable, given that we've launched and accurately placed ten satellites into orbit on a single GSLV in 2007, demonstrating some faculty in the area?
 

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Test flight of Agni-II on Monday night

The much-awaited test flight of the Agni-II surface-to-surface Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile will take place on Wheeler Island off the Orissa coast on Monday night.
This is the first time a missile will go for user-trial at night since the beginning of the missile development program by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The test flight of the 2,000-km plus range Agni-II missile will be conducted by the Indian Army.
The aim of the night trial is to provide on-field experience to the armed forces to gauge its accuracy at night.

The Agni-II has been designed to be launched from a rail or mobile launchers and also for road-mobile configuration.

The missile, which is 20 metres long and weighs 16 tons, can carry a payload of around 1,000 kg. Its range can also be increased to 3,000 km by reducing the payload.

The missile has been developed with the technical assistance of the Defence Research and Development Organization.

:india:

Test flight of Agni-II on Monday night - Express India
 

Yusuf

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I've always wondered whether and when the Agni-II would be made MIRV-capable, given that we've launched and accurately placed ten satellites into orbit on a single GSLV in 2007, demonstrating some faculty in the area?
Rage, placing ten sats in the orbit is not the same has making MIRVs isnt it? India is working on MIRVs for the Agni III i think. Can that be used on the Agni II?
 

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CNN-IBN reports that the Missile has been tested , no confirmation till now, waiting for details.

Regards
 

enlightened1

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http://www.breakingnewsonline.net/2009/11/agni-ii-missile-test-fired-from-wheeler.htmlhttp://www.breakingnewsonline.net/2009/11/agni-ii-missile-test-fired-from-wheeler.html

Monday, November 23, 2009

Balasore: Breaking News! India test-fired the 2,000-km Agni-II missile from the Wheeler Island off Orissa Coast at 7:50 PM tonight. This is the first time the nuclear-capable missile was launched in the night. The testing of Agni-II is a significant step towards making it fully operational in the Strategic Force Command.

The Agni-II missile has a weight of 17 tonnes and a length of 20 meters. It can carry a one-tonne payload over a maximum of 2,000 km.
 

Pintu

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Agni -II Missile Tested result is being awaited.


India tests nuclear-capable missile after sunset | World | Reuters

India tests nuclear-capable missile after sunset
Mon Nov 23, 2009 8:52pm IST



BHUBANESWAR (Reuters) - India's army tested a nuclear-capable Agni missile after sunset on Monday for the first time to demonstrate it could be fired whenever required, defence officials said.

The surface-to-surface Agni II missile is capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to targets around 2,000 km (1,200 miles) away, officials said.

"It was tested after sunset and we are awaiting results," said a defence official, who asked not to be identified.

The missile was test launched from Wheeler's Island, off India's east coast in Orissa state.

Its range can be increased to 3000 km (1,900 miles) by reducing the load. It is 65 feet (20 meters) long and can carry a payload of one tonne.

(Reporting by Jatindra Dash; Editing by Bappa Majumdar and Ron Popeski)
 

enlightened1

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NEW DELHI: India carried out its first nighttime test of a medium-range missile on Monday, a defense ministry official said.

The surface-to-surface ‘Agni-II’ (Fire) missile — with a range of up to 2,000 kilometers — can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads weighing up to 1,000 kilograms, the official said on condition of anonymity in line with ministry rules.

The missile was fired from Wheelers Island in the eastern state of Orissa, the official said.

India’s previous missile tests have been done during the day.

‘The Indian army wants to confirm a 24-hour operational cycle and to be able to fire under the cover of darkness,’ said Rahul Bedi, a defense analyst with Jane’s Defense Weekly.

India’s missiles are mostly intended for any confrontation with neighboring archrival Pakistan, but the Agni-II can put areas in southern China within striking range.

India has a variety of missiles including the short-range Prithvi ballistic missile, the medium-range Akash, and the supersonic Brahmos. The Agni missiles are the most powerful.

Monday’s test is unlikely to aggravate tensions between India and Pakistan as they routinely test-fire missiles.

Both usually notify each other ahead of the launches, however, it was not immediately known whether New Delhi informed Islamabad about Monday’s test.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since their independence from Britain in 1947, two over control of the Himalayan region of Kashmir.— AP
 

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Agni II missile fired first time after sunset

Reference: www.hindu.com



India’s nuclear-capable intermediate range Agni II missile was test—fired for the first time after sunset Monday, defence sources said.

The surface-to-surface missile with a range of 2,000-plus kilometers was tested from Wheeler’s Island -- a launch site in Bhadrak district, about 200 km from Bhubaneswar, at about 7.50 pm.

"It was tested after sunset and we are awaiting results," said a official.

“It was a user trial,” the sources said, adding that the aim of the test was to give the Army confidence to fire the missile whenever it was required.

The Agni II missile, which is a part of India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, is 20 m long and can carry 1,000 kg payload.

Weighing 17 tonnes, the range of the missile can also be increased to 3,000 km by reducing the pay load.

“It can be fired from both rail and road mobile launchers. It takes only 15 minutes for the missile to be readied for firing,” the sources said, adding that the Agni II-version of the Agni series of missiles was first test fired in 1999 from the same location.
 

Rage

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Rage, placing ten sats in the orbit is not the same has making MIRVs isnt it? India is working on MIRVs for the Agni III i think. Can that be used on the Agni II?
Yusufbhai,

Parallels can certainly be drawn between multiple satellite integration and dispensation, on the one hand, and MIRV's, on the other. The major difference is that these satellites are positioned in different orbits in space while in the case of MIRV the warheads re-enter the earth’s atmosphere and fire on the target. Therefore, the fact that we've executed multiple single-vehicle satellite launches, on multiple occasions, means that India already possesses incipient MIRV capabilities. However, several preconditions must be fulfilled before India can develop a viable MIRV technology; these include: vernier engines, or rocket engines that are re-startable, high precision inertial guidance technology, sophisticated re-entry vehicles that are highly accurate, and highly efficient miniaturized warheads.

The "bus" or Multiple Independently targettable Reentry Vehicle, is what carries each warhead, ensconced within "re-entry vehicles", and release them sequentially after having made highly precise orbital trajectory shifts with the aid of a highly-precise guidance and control mechanism. It can only do that if it is able to circumvent the rapidly deploying vehicles, which themselves may be deployed along several trajectories, by making minute adjustments to its own orbital trajectory with the aid of vernier engines.

ISRO has demonstrated several of these 'technological precursors' already, which fallout is directly adaptable to, and will directly accrue to the realization of maneuverable platforms for ICBM use, an attempt to explain which I will make below.

Now, consider for instance the empirical-technological similarities with Motorola's alleged technology transfer of the Iridium Smart Satellite Dispenser to China in the mid 1990's. While the claim of technology transfer proved to be syllogistic, the technological parameters which Motorola provided them helped the Chinese develop a more sophisticated multiple satellite launch capability (they had earlier demonstrated the ability to integrate and dispense 3 satellites in the 1980's) and accrued to their MIRV program. Similar to the Iridium, Isro has also developed the 'Dual Launch Adapter' (DLA) to launch and dispense multiple satellites used on the PSLV C7 in 2007. The DLA launched two 500,650 kilogram spacecraft – the Cartosat 2 and the Space Recovery Capsule - and two other smaller satellites off its vehicle. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle's terminal stage is also akin to the Post Boost Control System in that it is a re-startable maneuvering platform, similar to the one used in the Tran-stage in the Titan III and Titan II Mk6 RV.

Where do we fall short? The hypergolic / liquid-propellant engine on the PSLV is a 7.5 kilonewton, pressure fed, bi-propellant, 305 per second impulse, liquid engine that secures payloads into orbital injection. But for the final deployment stage of an MIRV technology, propulsive energy alone don't count for optimizing and calibrating injection accuracy. Instead, very precise navigation sensors and a highly sophisticated guidance & control system come into play. We may have some work to do on this yet, but we've already demonstrated an incipient capability with the use of the indigenously-developed Dynamically Tuned Gyros (DTG) and Servo Accelerometers (SA)- high-accuracy payload injection devices on the RESINS [Redundant Strap Down Inertial Navigation System] system of the PSLV. What we also did with the preparation for the moon mission, was to deploy and recover the SRE (Space Recovery Experiment) capsule that demonstrated the ability among others to use hypersonic aerothermodynamics, aerothermal struktures, and navigation, guidance and control of reentry vehicles. Now, this was significant, because the SRE in itself demonstrated: a) a hypersonic capability; b) validated the on-board Kalman filter, which provides sensory information about speed and position of a moving or static object; and c) was similar to, but albeit more advanced than, the MBRV hypersonic re-entry vehicle that served as a pivotal stepping-stone for the US Minuteman III.

In terms of inertial guidance mechanisms, we may also have to work on perfecting our navigation and command & guidance systems. Particularly, since most satellites carry their own maneuvering propellant, allowing for a higher margin of error in vehicular deployment and subsequent correction in satellite launches as opposed to MIRV's. On the other hand, warheads from missiles have no such luxury: no 'augmented guidance mechanisms' as such, meaning that the responsibility of locking on and smashing into terrestrial targets is left entirely to the "bus" and the re-entry vehicle. The margin of error therefore is substantially reduced.

Warhead miniaturization is also another field we may require adequate mastery in. It'd not be unreasonable to assume that we've made some advances in recalibrating and recompacting fission devices since Pokhran, 1998. But whether we've been able to do it enough, to successfully fit it into an MIRV and integrate it with a 'true' MIRV-capable delivery platform remains unknown.

The guidance and control mechanism would also have to be of the nature of a very high memory computer repository. ISRO has made reasonable advances in this area, so it shouldn't represent an acute challenge.

Now crucially, vernier engines were used, as far back as 2001, on the Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV) which placed a two-ton payload in geo-transfer orbit.

In addition, advancements in carbon composites to reduce the weight of high-quality, heat deflecting ablative material and stabilize gyrations on re-entry vehicles have also been made.

To that end, what we have demonstrated right now is the ability to stop and start hypergolic engines and the capacity to shift orbit to emplace satellites on different orbital trajectories at will, as also the (very proximate) technological precursors to developing an MIRV-capable advanced guidance & navigation system, that will aid in the realization of an MIRV capability.

The integration of satellite payloads onto space vehicles is also relevant to the integration of multiple warheads on intercontinental ballistic missiles.

So what is our conclusion: India already has critical enabling technology necessary for the research and development of an MIRV capability, validated through a series of successful satellite launches. When, and where, this technology shows up is only a matter of time, international politicking, and speculation. For all we know, we may already have developed the technology, the entire process shrouded in secrecy because it is so internationally sensitive, particularly given 'recent' events.
 

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NEW DELHI: India is all set to test its 2,000-km-plus Agni-II missile from the Wheeler Island off Orissa coast again on Monday.

Significantly, the nuclear-capable missile will be launched for the first time during night in a major step towards making it fully operational in the Strategic Forces Command (SFC).

Defence officials said Agni-II’s ‘user training trial’ was likely to be conducted around 8pm on Monday to give the necessary confidence to the armed forces that the two-stage, solid-fuelled missile can be fired whenever required.
Incidentally, DRDO is also working on MIRV (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles) technology for the Agni series of ballistic missiles. An ‘MIRVed’ missile can carry a bunch of nuclear warheads in a single payload, each of which can hit different targets along separate trajectories.

Such missiles can conceivably overwhelm even robust ballistic missile defences of an enemy. MIRV technology is considered important for a country like India, which has a clear no first-use nuclear doctrine but warns that nuclear retaliation to an enemy first-strike will be ‘massive and designed to inflict unacceptable damage’.

Pakistan, with the active help of China and North Korea, has surged ahead of India in the missile arena. Some US nuclear experts recently estimated that Pakistan has more nuclear warheads than India. As per their estimates, it has 70-90 warheads compared to 60-80 of India.

China is in a different league altogether, brandishing as it does ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) like Dong Feng-31A (11,200-km range) and SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missiles) like JL-2 (7,200-km range).
But coming back to the Agni-II test, it will take place only if all the pre-launch final checks go smoothly as planned on Monday. The missile, which is around 20-metre tall and weighs 17 tonnes, was earlier to be tested on November 6 but it was called off at the last moment due to some glitches.

Even Agni-II’s last test on May 19 was not fully successful. Consequently, the only ballistic missiles which can be said to be “100% operational” at present are the short-range Prithvi missile (150-350 km) and, to a certain extent, the 700-km-range Agni-I. The fourth test of 3,500-km Agni-III, which will give India the strategic capability to hit targets deep inside China once it becomes fully operational by around 2012, will take place early next year.

India’s most ambitious strategic missile Agni-V will be ready for its first test only in end-2010 or early-2011. With a proposed range of 5,000-km, Agni-V will have near ICBM capabilities (strike range in excess of 5,500-km) and give India’s “dissuasive deterrence posture” against China some much-needed muscle.

Night launch for N-capable Agni-II today - India - The Times of India
 

Rage

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This is the full news report:


N-capable Agni II test firing at night fails

Nitin Gokhale, Monday November 23, 2009, New Delhi

The first night test firing of India's 2000 km plus range nuclear capable ballistic missile, Agni-II from the Wheeler's Island 10 km from Balasore inside the Bay of Bengal has failed.

It is for the first time that, the Strategic Forces Command personnel along with scientists from Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) were conducting this trial during night.

Sources have told NDTV that the test failed to meet many parametres after it was fired off at 1950 hours on Monday night.

According to a defence source, "The indigenously developed surface-to-surface missile was test fired from a rail mobile launcher from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) launch pad - 4."

The two-stage solid propelled missile has a launch weight of 17 tonnes and approximately 20 meters in height. It can carry a pay load of one tonne over 2000 km.
Who are these "defence sources"?? And what are their supposed parameters? Or is this more sensationalism coming from the DDM desk? The last time some Hemant Rout came up claiming "failure from successive parameters", until he was silenced by reports coming from every other quarter. If this is a fake buzz, it is yellow journalism at its best - at the cost of national interests!
 

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