Agni-III test fired Sucessfully
Apr 12, 2007 (FIDNS)
Indian scientists achieved a major milestone in missile technology when they successfully conducted the flight test of the Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) – AGNI III from the Wheeler Island, off the coast of Orissa at 10.50 this morning. The 16 meter long missile weighing 48 tonnes, lifted off successfully from its Rail Mobile Launcher System leaving a trail of orange and yellow smoke. The missile which has a range of more than 3000 kms is capable of carrying a pay load of 1.5 Tonnes. The trajectory of AGNI III is computed by the onboard computer system based on the launch and target coordinates. During the flight the missile has no communication with the ground systems and is autonomous and fully `intelligent’ to reach its designated target. With this success, the design team is happy that the problems faced in the previous attempt on July 09 last year has been fully understood and solved.
The entire flight path of approx 15 minutes duration validated all mission objectives primarily to establish the performance of the two stage propulsion in flight and the flex nozzle control system being attempted by DRDO scientists for the very first time. The flight was tracked from ground stations at Dhamra, ITR, Balasore, Port Blair and two Indian Naval ships in the Indian Ocean. Shri M Natarajan, Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri made a specific reference to the achievement of high degree of self reliance in AGNI III, as most of the sub systems have been developed within the country with the synergy between DRDO – Industry (both Public and Private sector) and Academia. As per the Mission Director, Shri Avinash Chander, many “firsts” have been established by this launch, which includes the Flex Nozzle Controls of Rocket Motor during powered phase, specially developed composite propellant with high specific impulse for the rocket. Guidance and Control with built in fault tolerant avionics, withstanding of severe aero thermal environment experienced during the Re-entry phase and coordinated mission management.
The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony has congratulated the defence scientists on the successful launch and for achieving another important milestone in self-reliance in this critical strategic system. He also stated that India has matured in the missile technology area and was definitely at par with many other developed countries. AGNI III has confirmed India’s Strategic capability for minimum credible deterrence. Today’s historic event was witnessed by Shri Pallam Raju, Raksha Rajya Mantri, Shri M Natarajan, SA to RM and a host of senior officials of Ministry of Defence and Services.
Due to its high accuracy, the missile is useable in smaller sub-nuclear conflicts, a trend now seen in American long-range missiles.
Agni III, DRDO sources said is likely to serve as a base missile for development of underwater launched version of the Agni missiles, miniaturised to be carried in future Indian submarines.
Beijing reacted immediately to news of the firing, saying it hoped that India, “as a country with an important influence in this region, can work to maintain and promote peace and stability in the region”.
“We hope they can make a positive contribution in this regard and play a positive role,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in Beijing.
Chinese officials however stressed, however, that it would be wrong to see the testing of the missile as a threat to China, emphasising the friendly relations the countries enjoyed.
“It poses no threat to China. It is merely a test firing. No more, no less,” a senior government official said.
Officials in New Delhi emphasised that the missile’s testing should not be seen as an indication of a deterioration in those relations.
M. Natarajan, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, who described Wednesday’s Agni III flight as “a perfect mission,” said: “It is a very significant success, particularly when the entire design, planning, material construction, execution and everything associated with the mission was indigenous. Such an effort is vital for the strategic system of our country.” The series of successes in the last six months, including that of the Prithvi interceptor missile, the launch of Dhanush, the success of another strategic system and now the Agni III “signify that we are maturing in these difficult technologies,” said Mr. Natarajan, who was present at the launch site. Unmindful of the maiden Agni III’s failure last year, the DRDO scientists worked hard, analysed the failure from the telemetry of the previous mission, did a lot of reviews and took corrective action which led to this success, added Mr. Natarajan.
Prahlada, Chief Controller, R and D, DRDO (Services Interaction), said: “The strength of the mission was that the entire system was totally indigenously developed, the missile’s hardware and software, instrumentation, tracking systems and so on.” Dr. Prahlada called it “a great flight.” It was a totally autonomous missile. Once it was launched, it did not depend on any command or signal from the ground. “It is an intelligent missile,” added Dr. Prahlada, who witnessed the flight.
Dr. Santhanam said: “So you need missiles, whether they are surface-to-surface missiles or submarine-launched missiles. A submarine-launched missile will be an effective deterrent because its survival capability is high compared to a land system. A missile launched from a silo will be a sitting duck. The vulnerability of a missile launched from land can be reduced by making it mobile, either road or rail mobile. To that extent, Agni III has this dispersal and mobility.” Since Agni III’s diameter was two metres, its thrust would be high, its range was more and it could carry heavier payloads with a larger volume. “To get into surface-to-surface missiles of long range class, you should have an engine of large diameter, be it powered by solid or liquid propellants. Worldover, the trend is to go for missiles fuelled by solid propellants because they have what is called QRA (quick reaction alert),”
Agni III is a product of the Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Hyderabad. ASL is a unit of DRDO.
Sorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.