Agni V Missile test launch

[nitesh]

Crucial tests of three Agni missiles soon - South India - Orissa - ibnlive

BALASORE: Preparations are on at the Wheelers Island off the Odisha coast for a series of tests of three Agni missiles, including the maiden test of India's longest-range ballistic missile Agni-5. They will be held shortly. Prior to the first development trial of 5,000-km range Agni-5, the DRDO has planned to conduct two user trials of 700-km range Agni-1 and 2,000-km range Agni-2 missile.

 

[ajay_ijn]

Indian missile program has thrown in many surprises over the last few years. Shaurya, Prahar, ABM. No one knew about its existence. A lot of secrecy is there and I am fully convinced that the govt is giving wrong info so that world powers are not antagonized for what is still Indian affairs but out govt wants to keep a low profile. May be they have learned a bit from the Chinis who prefer to lie low.

i sometimes think may be we were too late in developing ICBM.
failure of project valiant, US pressure on Agni program, India insisting on separation of civilian space program and missile program, MTCR.

Smiling Buddha- Indias first nuclear test- 1974
complex four stage rocket SLV-3 first successful launch- 1980
successful launch of Agni-TD - 1989

The time taken by India to reach the present stage simply doesn't feel right. India was thinking about nukes immediately after chinese first test in 1964 using cirus, somewhere read that India secretly requested US blueprints for plowshare nuclear device and weapon-grade plutonium just before US changed its stand to non-proliferation. ISRO too started its program way back in 1960s, by 1970 started full fledged development of SLV-3.

In 60s, 70s & 80s, Indias missile program has lost valuable time of developing ICBM Technology. ISRO had done its job amazingly on time, by 1994 they have full fledged Four Stage Launch Vehicle and capability to build any kind of Satellite.
Finally in 1998, after all the chor-police games, India finally managed to surprise Khan by testing nukes.
By 1998, all of indias missiles were liquid fuelled Short Range missile Prithvi and two-stage tech demostrator rocket Agni-TD. Is this expected from a kind of country like India?

I wonder how seriously India pursued Project Valiant & Devil, how much funding really went there. but we should started serious efforts of IRBM/ICBM in 1970s itself.

 

[Shaitan]

India set to test new Agni V rocket next week


India is within days of test-firing a long-range rocket capable of reaching deep into Asia and Europe, a move that would bring the emerging power into a small club of nations with intercontinental defence capabilities.

Scientists are preparing to launch the nuclear warhead-enabled Agni V, with a range of more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles), between April 18 and 20, a defence ministry official with knowledge of the matter said on Friday. The official asked not to be named.

Only the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council – China, Russia, France, the United States and the United Kingdom – along with Israel, are believed to have such long distance missiles.

The launch will be closely monitored by India's nuclear-armed rivals China and Pakistan and by Western countries, but is unlikely to draw the kind of criticism aimed at North Korea after its own failed long-range rocket launch on Thursday.

India has a no-first-use policy and says its nuclear weapons and missiles are for defensive purposes only.

"India's missile programme is not directed against any country. The missiles are purely for the purpose of deterrence," said Ravi Kumar Gupta, a senior scientist and director at the government-run Defence Research and Development Organisation that developed the rocket.

"No first use has always been our policy," he said.

The Agni V is designed to be the most advanced version of the indigenously built Agni series, the defence ministry official said. It is powered by solid rocket propellants and can be transported by road.

India has tested several missiles in the past few years as part of its programme, which started in the 1960s.

 

[sayareakd]

how come there are more then one thread on Agni 5??

 

[Adux]

no the test is not supposed to be secret or the tested range of missile. but the potential range of missile.

Potential range of the missile, easily deductible by the US or any serious watcher. We have to test to atleast some parameters (hidden) make it operational, that is enough.


To put pressure on Agni program is counter productive for the US, to even put pressure on the Nuclear Weapons also, therefore the Nuclear Deal. US pressure's india through various other means, mostly economic and clout over Pakistan.

 

[pmaitra]

how come there are more then one thread on Agni 5??

Thanks Mr. Sayare. I have listed them here. I will let the staff know:
http://defenceforumindia.com/forum/strategic-forces/25875-agni-5-fly-halfway-antarctica.html
http://defenceforumindia.com/forum/strategic-forces/6005-agni-v.html

 

[pmaitra]

^^

This thread will stay as it is for now. The other two have been merged into: http://defenceforumindia.com/forum/strategic-forces/6005-agni-v.html

 

[spikey360]

Indian missile program has thrown in many surprises over the last few years. Shaurya, Prahar, ABM. No one knew about its existence. A lot of secrecy is there and I am fully convinced that the govt is giving wrong info so that world powers are not antagonized for what is still Indian affairs but out govt wants to keep a low profile. May be they have learned a bit from the Chinis who prefer to lie low.

In agreement with you.
Reminds me of the Shakti tests. The way in which the whole world and even the Americans who think they are capable of detecting accurately any and every test on earth were fooled. Therefore I think there is more to these tests than what meets the eye. Not that I am a conspiracy theorist of any sort, but noting how aggressively we have developed new weapon systems, notwithstanding the delays which had more to do with funding than anything else, I would say that this is the penultimate if not the ultimate step before the dream of a full fledged ICBM is realised.

 

[spikey360]

If we can reach moon with some degree of accuracy, then i dont think any spot in the world would be unreachable, we dont have operational ICBM at the present but that does not means that those who are in same business dont know what we are capable of doing, A4 reaching 900 km in height and reaching same range as A3 is good example of what we can do.

They are two different things. First, let us get some facts clear. We did not REACH moon in the truest sense of the word only with the help of rockets. What was done and is done and in all probability will be done again is that the earth's gravitational field has been used as a slingshot to yank the satellite from earth's orbit into a path headed towards the moon. Once the satellite reached near the moon, it was attracted and captured by Moon's gravitational field and consequently Chandrayan started orbiting the moon. Then it dropped a probe which crash landed on moon. Note, emphasis on the word crash because probes don't crash land and are functional when they reach their destination. So technically Chandrayan probe was actually a collider/smasher. It is further worth noting that USSR and US have done much more than this this almost half a century ago and yes, they after that sent Voyager 1 and 2 which successfully visited all planets in the solar system and is presently in the outer reaches of the solar system, beyond Pluto. Not to belittle our Chandrayan achievement, but just a little history to remind us of what we still desire and need to achieve.
Now moving on to ICBMs. They are self guided with Inertial Navigation Systems, Star tracking systems, GPS corrections etc. IMHO, that is many times more complex that launching a rocket which ultimately launches a probe. Furthermore, missiles have to be accurate with a CEP of a kilometre at maximum, however, rockets can deviate a few hundred kilometres from their path and can still reach their destination successfully with course correction and monitoring from ground. Also, this correction can be tried to be performed for days if not weeks while one has only 25-30 mins before an ICBM detonates halfway across the world. For that, much more details have to be taken care of starting with a network of military navigation satellites.
Therefore it would be a bit premature to say we are presently capable of developing a missile, capable of hiting anywhere, in a matter of months. That would be inaccurate to say. Proper framework is still needed for ICBM guidance and delivery. Not to mention the work that still needs to be done for exoatmospheric orbits as these ICBMs actally re-enter. Neither PSLV nor GSLV has to re-enter. So you see, both these things, though rocket science are very different from each other and advancement in one field may not necessarily mean a great stride in another.

 

[Shaitan]

SNEAK PEAK: Agni V being readied for launch at Wheeler Island

In the remote Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast, the countdown has begun for the first test of India's most sophisticated and powerful ballistic missile ever built, Agni V.

If all goes well, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) which built the missile, is expected to launch Agni V on Wednesday, April 18, from the Island.

With a planned range of 5,000 km, the Agni V will traverse 2,000 km more than any Indian missile has ever done. Wednesday's launch will see the missile first power its way to a vertical height of 500 km in the atmosphere before following a ballistic trajectory that will see it splash down in the Indian Ocean way beyond Indonesia.

A commercial jetliner would take over six hours to traverse such a distance. But Agni V, travelling at 24 times the speed of sound and 30 times faster than a commercial jet, will traverse that distance in just 18 to 20 minutes. In doing so, it will become not just the longest range ballistic missile in India's strategic armoury but also its fastest. Most importantly, Agni V would put most of China's major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, within Indian missile range.

The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Main News

 

[sayareakd]

is that real pic??? I dont see any container for A5.

 

[sesha_maruthi27]

Guys is it true that Agni 5 is going to be tested this wednesday?

 

[sayareakd]

i am disappointed, no can., i was hoping for it, cone RV is good for first, missile look good.

 

[plugwater]

i am disappointed, no can., i was hoping for it, cone RV is good for first, missile look good.

Can and MIRV will come in later stages!! First let them succeed and then we shall go for upgrades .

 

[sukhish]

Why can't the range be increased to 6000 km, just above the ICBM range, instead of just 5000 km range

 

[nitesh]

Mach 24 speed is ICBM territory, it's an ICBM period

 

[A chauhan]

This test is going to be very crucial, Mach 24 and re-entering in the atmosphere of the earth is really challenging task, it would be a major step if we succeed in this test. Best of luck to DRDO !!

Why can't the range be increased to 6000 km, just above the ICBM range, instead of just 5000 km range

I would ask the same novice question, at the height of 500kms there won't be any friction so why can't we do it ?

 

[Ray]

spikey360


Well analysed!

 

[nitesh]

They are two different things. First, let us get some facts clear. We did not REACH moon in the truest sense of the word only with the help of rockets. What was done and is done and in all probability will be done again is that the earth's gravitational field has been used as a slingshot to yank the satellite from earth's orbit into a path headed towards the moon. Once the satellite reached near the moon, it was attracted and captured by Moon's gravitational field and consequently Chandrayan started orbiting the moon. Then it dropped a probe which crash landed on moon. Note, emphasis on the word crash because probes don't crash land and are functional when they reach their destination. So technically Chandrayan probe was actually a collider/smasher. It is further worth noting that USSR and US have done much more than this this almost half a century ago and yes, they after that sent Voyager 1 and 2 which successfully visited all planets in the solar system and is presently in the outer reaches of the solar system, beyond Pluto. Not to belittle our Chandrayan achievement, but just a little history to remind us of what we still desire and need to achieve.
Now moving on to ICBMs. They are self guided with Inertial Navigation Systems, Star tracking systems, GPS corrections etc. IMHO, that is many times more complex that launching a rocket which ultimately launches a probe. Furthermore, missiles have to be accurate with a CEP of a kilometre at maximum, however, rockets can deviate a few hundred kilometres from their path and can still reach their destination successfully with course correction and monitoring from ground. Also, this correction can be tried to be performed for days if not weeks while one has only 25-30 mins before an ICBM detonates halfway across the world. For that, much more details have to be taken care of starting with a network of military navigation satellites.
Therefore it would be a bit premature to say we are presently capable of developing a missile, capable of hiting anywhere, in a matter of months. That would be inaccurate to say. Proper framework is still needed for ICBM guidance and delivery. Not to mention the work that still needs to be done for exoatmospheric orbits as these ICBMs actally re-enter. Neither PSLV nor GSLV has to re-enter. So you see, both these things, though rocket science are very different from each other and advancement in one field may not necessarily mean a great stride in another.

First, the Chandrayaan probe was not crash landed, it was guided landing to a particular point to release the debris for analysis by the orbiting payloads.
Moon Impact Probe

Next India already has demonstrated re entry technology, when it landed a capsule in Bay of Bengal

Third, ICBM's don't use external guidence, they use RLG's, INS, MINGS, all have been tested in Agni 4 and other variants too.

 

[arya]

cross your fingers and wait for successful result

but from china point of view , what they are thinking now ???