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Agni-III sparks off on its success sojourn

DH News Service, Bhubaneswar:

India has successfully test-fired its most sophisticated and strategically most important missile Agni III from the DRDO-run missile testing centre...

India on Thursday successfully test-fired its most sophisticated and strategically most important missile Agni III from the DRDO-run missile testing centre located in the Wheelers Island off the Dhamara coast in Orissa’s Bhadrak district.

According to Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) sources, the intermediate range ballistic missile which has the capability to carry both conventional as well as nuclear warheads was test-fired from launch pad number four of the premier missile testing centre at around 10.52 am.

With this success, the country has acquired the much needed credible nuclear deterrent against potential adversaries like the China.

The 15-minute flight of the 16- metre-high “huge and powerful” missile weighing about 48 tonnes was tracked by defence scientists from DRDO’s Interim Test Range (ITR) located at Chandipur in the neighbouring district of Balasore. The missile’s path was also monitored from two ships of the Indian Navy stationed in the Bay of Bengal till it hit its target somewhere near the Car Nicobar island.

“Thursday’s test-firing of the Agni III missile was successful. It met all the parameters. Previous faults in the missile had been rectified. It is indeed a proud moment for Indian defence scientists,” a DRDO official, who did not wish to be named, told Deccan Herald soon after the test-firing.



SILICA-BASED HEAT BARRIER AT RESCUE

From Kalyan Ray,

DH News Service,

New Delhi:

The reason why the 16-mt long, 48 tonne heavy Agni-III missile stayed on course during the entire flying time of 15 minutes is the new silica based heat barrier which was stitched to the front portion of the missile.

It prevented burning down of the controls and thereby ensuring a successful flight of the long distance missile. Absence of such a barrier triggered failure of Agni-III’s first test nearly nine months ago.

The failure was due to re-circulation of the hot gas inside the intermediate range ballistic missile because of which internal temperature shot up to 700-800 degrees Celsius. Such a high temperature rise resulted in burning down of cables and the control system, which guided the nozzle actuation.

The trajectory of Agni-III is determined by an on-board computer. During the flight the missile has no communication with the ground systems. On flight, it is fully autonomous and intelligent to reach the target, official sources said.

Though last year’s launch was successful, the missile travelled less than 1000 km and fell into the Bay of Bengal after about five minutes instead of flying for 15 minutes. The missile is designed to travel 3500 km.

“We went through the analysis and were very clear that the primary problem was at the supersonic speed at the height of 35 to 40 km height where there was a re-circulation of hot gas,” Dr Natarajan said while briefing Defence Minister A K Antony in the South Block after the test.

To overcome the heat problem, DRDO scientists designed the flexible silica-based heat barrier that was stitched to the missile like a skirt or an umbrella. It took some time and assistance from academic institutions because the material has to be flexible for allowing the nozzle to flex.

The new material moves along with the nozzle and insulates the core of the missile from heat. “The entire mission has now been accomplished on the dot,” said Dr Natarajan who was under pressure because of DRDO’s failure with Aakash and Trishul missiles.

“Withstanding the severe aero-thermal environment experienced during the re-entry phase (from upper atmosphere to the lower) is one of the challenges achieved for the first time,” said mission director Dr Avinash Chander.