China Under Indian Irbm Range

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India successfully tests Agni-III missile

Thursday, April 12, 2007

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Balasore: Marking a new milestone in missile technology, India successfully tested its home-grown nuclear capable Agni III ballistic missile, with a range of over 3,000 km, from a defence base in Orissa.


The missile was test-fired at 10.52 a.m. from launching complex No. 4 of the Inner Wheeler Island, a new launch site of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at the Chandipur defence base, 230 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar.


The first test of the missile from the same defence base on July 9, 2006 had failed -- the second stage of the rocket had failed to separate from the missile quickly and fallen short of its target.


The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which developed the missile, had attributed this failure to a "material-related fault", besides problems with the protective heat shield, design and propulsion.


However, the initial feedback from the Thursday test indicated that it was successful, a senior defence official said.


Agni-III, one of the Agni series missiles, is capable of carrying warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes, is 16 metres tall and weighs 48 tonnes. With an improved guidance system, this latest variant of the Agni series of missiles, Agni-III had a diameter of 1.8 metres and length of 16 metres.



While Agni-III is capable of reaching strategic targets deep inside China like Beijing and Shanghai, it, however, falls short of being an ICBM (inter-continental ballistic missile) that has ranges of over 5,000 km, a scientist said. Agni-III will become the missile with the longest reach in South Asia and more powerful than any missile in Pakistan's arsenal. However, China has missiles with a longer reach than Agni-III.


NOW INDIA CAN START ON AGNI4/SURYA(SUN FAMILY) ICBM. BUT PARALLEL TESTING OF AGNI TO IMPROVE ITS RANGE TO 5000 KILOMETERS WILL TAKE PLACE

Agni-III supports a wide range of weapons, with total payload weight ranging from ~600 kg to 1,800 kg including decoys and other ABM countermeasures. Instead of conventional bus architecture, the RV (Re-Entry Vehicle) is likely to be self-contained with high altitude thrusters, navigation and re-entry control systems.

Lighter and tougher RV body with all carbon composite re-entry heat shield with multi directional carbon re-entry nose tip and control surfaces, the new lightweight composites can withstand temperatures of up to 6000 degrees Celsius, and capable of greater re-entry velocity. The all composite RV has no metal backup.

Class:IRBM
Propulsion: 3-stage solid/liquid
Range: 4,000-6,000 km
Status: Development

We have another threads saying that the missile test was failed, but this thread says it was succeeded. Which one is right?

The thread "Agni 3 test failure" is an old thread that was started last year after a failed test of the missile. Kursed revived it with a story about the successful test that Sidewinder posted a new thread about.

The Indian Defense Ministry recently made two announcements concerning advancements in their Agni ballistic missile series; the production of the Agni-III ballistic missile has begun; and after recent test-firings of the Agni-I missile, the Agni-I has been declared ready for deployment by the Indian military. The Agni-III has a target range of 3,000 kilometers; far enough to reach Beijing, China. Its predecessors, the Agni-I and Agni-II have a range of 800 kilometers and 2,500 kilometers respectively.

The advancement in the Agni missile series has prompted concern from the controlling entity for India's nuclear defense policy, the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB), as well as from the U.S. State Department. So as not to provoke an already destabilized Pakistan, the NSAB has urged the government to review its stance of no-first-use of nuclear weapons, as called for in the official Indian Nuclear Doctrine.

Pakistan's increasingly provocative behavior is of grave concern in New Delhi. Indian intelligence estimates that at least 80 Chinese-built M-11 ballistic missiles, with a range of 300 kilometers (adequate to reach New Delhi), are stockpiled in the northeast corner of Pakistan targeted at India. China has also supplied the M-11 launchers to Pakistan. The Pakistani military is actively trying to acquire ballistic missiles with greater ranges including copies of various Chinese and North Korean types. JINSA reported in June 2002 that not only do Pakistani missiles have the capability of carrying nuclear warheads, but Pakistan also supports separatist Islamic terrorist groups active in Kashmir.

Pakistan's refusal to heed American warnings on ending cross-border terrorism, the recent escalation in violence in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir. It has been reported that there is a growing conviction in Indian government circles that the active Lashkar e Tayiba Islamic terrorist group active in India is supported by and based in Pakistan.

After the May 1998 series of nuclear tests by India and Pakistan, both proving themselves as nuclear powers, fear exists in the international community that a small disagreement between the long time enemies could spark nuclear war. It would take only four minutes for a missile to hit the other country, allowing only minutes for the other country to respond. The recent test-firings have only added to hostile relations. However, Pakistan is not India's sole concern regarding a nuclear arms buildup; China's possession of an estimated 300 to 600 nuclear warheads is a major factor. According to a January 20, 2003 report in Defense News, a senior Indian Ministry of Defense official called the Agni-III, "China-specific."

As with Pakistan, China and India share unresolved borders. A war over the disputed territory in the Himalayas in 1962-1963 led to years of hostile relations. A senior official at the Indian Ministry of External Defense told Defense News on January 14, 2003, that China currently occupies 38,000 square kilometers of Indian territory. The official also commented, "In addition, under the Sino-Pak Boundary agreement of 1963, Pakistan has illegally ceded an additional 5,180 square kilometers to China." As well, China supplies weapons and equipment, including ballistic missiles, to nearly all the states surrounding India: Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Neither Pakistan nor India has disclosed how many nuclear warheads are in their possession. However, in a May 24, 2002 article carried by NewScientist.com, an online science news magazine, it was revealed that if a "limited" nuclear war broke out between the two countries, a minimum of three million people would die and 1.5 million injured. The estimates are predicted on the assumption that one tenth of each country's nuclear warheads were exploded over 10 major cities. The report noted that the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, D.C. proposed a new method to estimate the number of warheads in both countries based on their assumed plutonium and uranium weapons-grade stockpiles. According to this method, India has about 65 warheads, while Pakistan has 40.

The Agni missile program has been in development since 1979 by the Indian Defense Research and Development Laboratory under the Indian Defense Development Organization. Agni, meaning fire, is to be part of the Indian military's strategic self-defense system against China and Pakistan. The first intermediate-range ballistic missile, the Agni-I was test fired in May 1989. Prior to the 1998 nuclear weapons declaration by the government of India, the Agni-I was officially known as a "technology demonstrator," not a ballistic missile. In 1994, however, Agni production was halted due to diplomatic pressure from the United States and depleted funds. Production resumed under the new 1998 government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party with the development of the Agni-II, a more accurate missile that intelligence sources declared capable of delivering nuclear warheads. The Agni-II has a much faster deployment time than the Agni-I, due to its two-stage solid fuel propulsion system versus the Agni-I's first-stage solid fuel and second-stage liquid fuel system.

A major turning point for the production of Agni missiles occurred after the undeclared 1999 Kargil war with Pakistan and was no doubt given more urgency over then three years as Pakistani-supported terrorism escalated coming to a head when five Pakistani gunmen attempted to storm the Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001 and unsuccessfully attempted to kill as many of the elected leadership as possible. India decided not only to introduce the Agni-II into the military, but also to expand the range of the Agni missile for future deterrence against China.

Pic from yesterday's launch.

India on April 13 dismissed allegations of recklessness after Indonesia said one of its passenger jets was forced to turn around in midair due to a ballistic missile test.
The Garuda Indonesia plane, passengers en route to Saudi Arabia, had reached Indian airspace when the nuclear-capable missile flew through the sky.
The incident April 12 has triggered a diplomatic row between the two countries, with Indonesia’s foreign ministry demanding an explanation as to why no warning was given.
But New Delhi said this was not the case.
“A notice was sent a week before the test by Indian aviation authorities to ATC [air traffic control] Jakarta and other ATCs in the region informing them about the launch window dates, danger time, zone and height,” Indian foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters in New Delhi.
“The ATCs were requested to take action to issue notice to aviators and mariners in accordance with relevant ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization] provisions,” said Sarna.
The statement came as Indonesia threatened to lodge a formal protest, with national carrier Garuda’s operations director quoted as saying that “no prior information about the test” had been given.
The Boeing 747 jet carrying 400 people aborted its flight after 90 minutes and returned to the Indonesian capital Jakarta, an Indonesian report said.
Sarna also said India’s missile tests were perfectly safe.
“India’s missile testing program has always followed the requisite safety precautions including in the case of the Agni missile test,” he said.
The jet’s exact location relative to the missile, which trailed orange and yellow smoke as it rocketed skyward, has not yet been made public.
Air India also said one of its incoming passenger flights from Singapore had to return to the city-state because of the missile launch, the Press Trust of India reported.
India announced April 12 the successful test-firing of the medium-range ballistic missile, which can transport a one-tonne nuclear warhead as far away as Beijing.
The Agni-III (Fire-III) blasted off from Wheeler Island, 110 miles northeast of Bhubaneswar, capital of the eastern Orissa state.

ICBM with 5,500-km range can be developed in three years: DRDO

New Delhi, April 13: With the successful launch of the nuclear-capable Agni-III, India has achieved the capability to develop an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile to strike at targets 5,500 km away within the next two to three years, top defence scientists said on Thursday.

"We have achieved the capability to make missiles with a range of 3,500 km to 5,500 km but the decision (to develop an ICBM) has to be taken by the political leadership," Defence Research and Development Organisation chief M Natarajan said here.

"DRDO scientists are working on miniaturising the systems of the Agni-III so that a third stage can be squeezed into the 16-metre-long missile to enable it to go up to 5,500 km with the same 1.5-tonne payload," Natarajan said a day after the first successful launch of the 3,000-km Agni-III.

Agni-III will also be converted into a submarine-launched ballistic missile to open more second-strike options for the country, DRDO scientists told reporters during a briefing.

Pointing out that Agni-III had been tested to almost its full range of 3,000 km, Mission Director Avinash Chander said the missile would become "fully operational" after two to three more launches to be carried out in the next three years.

DRDO has drawn up a busy schedule of tests for its diverse range of indigenous missiles, with the second test of its missile defence system set for August or October. The organisation is also planning user trials for its surface-to-air Akash missile and fourth generation anti-tank Nag missile.

Chander said Agni-I, with a range of 700 km, had already been inducted into the Army while the country's first fully solid-state missile, the 2,000-km Agni-II, is currently being inducted.

Asked whether the proposed ICBM would be christened Surya, Natarajan said it be given a name derived from the Agni series.

For the first time, Chander said, DRDO had acted only as an integrating agency with the Agni-III, with most of the missile's components being made by private industry. A total of 258 private firms and 20 DRDO laboratories were involved in this venture.

"This is why there were no production delays and the next missile is being readied in parallel," he said.

Could the title be any more ridiculous? China borders India so naturally any missiles India builds will be able to reach China.

Vlad Plasmius said:

Could the title be any more ridiculous? China borders India so naturally any missiles India builds will be able to reach China.

Click to expand...

sure china would be under range of any missile built by india but the most important cities are beijing,shangai etc which are situated far away on eastern coast out of reach of most missilies built by india only with agni-iii has india achived second strike capability against china.

i dont think india would like to be stuck in a situation where a first strike by china would have to be responded by stirike against tibet where china leadership wouldnt care.

to have a minimum credible deterrent you have to show that you are capable of inflicting unacceptable damage to the enemy in case of a first strike.