<p>The strategic missile, which once developed could hit objects deep inside China, has moved from the drawing board to the testing phase in which various sub-systems and rocket motors are being tested, V K Saraswat, scientific adviser to the defence minister, said here. <br /><br />The three-stage missile will be slightly longer and heavier than the 3500-km range Agni-3 whose last development trial was successfully conducted last Sunday. <br />Missile diameter, warhead and key components in the navigational system will be the same as Agni-3.<br /><br />Avinash Chander, director for the Agni programme said 40 per cent of Agni-5 would be new while 60 per cent would come from the existing A3 block.<br />Scientists admitted there were design challenges in the propulsion system, in the control and guidance for the payload's re-entry and in the payload design. “But these are not insurmountable challenges,” Saraswat said.<br />He said Agni-5 would be India’s answer to China’s Dong Feng-31 and DF-41 which could strike at a distance of 6,000 to 8,000 km.<br /><br />Saraswat denied India having an intercontinental ballistic missile programme. “We are developing only Agni-5 with a 5000-km plus range. It is required for full deterrence,” he said.<br /><br />He, however, admitted that Agni-5's range could be increased by reducing its payload weight. But since it is a strategic missile with a specific mission, reducing the payload would not serve the mission objectives.<br /><br />Range and lethality of a missile depends on threat perception. As the building blocks for ICBM-range missile are basically the same, it can be integrated as and when the requirement arises depending on the threat perception. Saraswat said Agni-3, the 3,500-km-range strategic missile, was in the process of induction. And the DRDO was ready to hand it over to the strategic forces command.<br /><br />The missile that can carry 1.5 tonnes of nuclear-capable warhead underwent four flight tests. The first in 2006 failed. But three subsequent tests succeeded. <br />Asked why more tests were not being conducted before announcing the missile’s readiness, Chander said three tests were adequate to improve the parameters. However, since 80-100 tests are to establish a missile's reliability, that could not be established in three tests, he said.<br />DH News Service</p>
<p>The strategic missile, which once developed could hit objects deep inside China, has moved from the drawing board to the testing phase in which various sub-systems and rocket motors are being tested, V K Saraswat, scientific adviser to the defence minister, said here. <br /><br />The three-stage missile will be slightly longer and heavier than the 3500-km range Agni-3 whose last development trial was successfully conducted last Sunday. <br />Missile diameter, warhead and key components in the navigational system will be the same as Agni-3.<br /><br />Avinash Chander, director for the Agni programme said 40 per cent of Agni-5 would be new while 60 per cent would come from the existing A3 block.<br />Scientists admitted there were design challenges in the propulsion system, in the control and guidance for the payload's re-entry and in the payload design. “But these are not insurmountable challenges,” Saraswat said.<br />He said Agni-5 would be India’s answer to China’s Dong Feng-31 and DF-41 which could strike at a distance of 6,000 to 8,000 km.<br /><br />Saraswat denied India having an intercontinental ballistic missile programme. “We are developing only Agni-5 with a 5000-km plus range. It is required for full deterrence,” he said.<br /><br />He, however, admitted that Agni-5's range could be increased by reducing its payload weight. But since it is a strategic missile with a specific mission, reducing the payload would not serve the mission objectives.<br /><br />Range and lethality of a missile depends on threat perception. As the building blocks for ICBM-range missile are basically the same, it can be integrated as and when the requirement arises depending on the threat perception. Saraswat said Agni-3, the 3,500-km-range strategic missile, was in the process of induction. And the DRDO was ready to hand it over to the strategic forces command.<br /><br />The missile that can carry 1.5 tonnes of nuclear-capable warhead underwent four flight tests. The first in 2006 failed. But three subsequent tests succeeded. <br />Asked why more tests were not being conducted before announcing the missile’s readiness, Chander said three tests were adequate to improve the parameters. However, since 80-100 tests are to establish a missile's reliability, that could not be established in three tests, he said.<br />DH News Service</p>
