Quote:TNN 24 November 2009, 12:28am IST



BALASORE: India's nuclear-capable intermediate range Agni-II missile, test-fired for the first time after sunset on Monday, reportedly failed to get the desired results.



The Army test-fired the surface-to-surface Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) from Wheeler�s Island, Bhadrak district, around 7.50pm.��The liftoff and the first stage separation was smooth. But it faltered just before the second stage separation and behaved erratically, deviating from its coordinated path. Further analysis is on to ascertain the cause,�� said a source.



The entire trajectory of Monday�s trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and a naval ship.



The launch, originally scheduled in the first week of this month, was deferred due to some technical snags in its pneumatic system. Though the snags were rectified, another glitch surfaced during Monday�s test, leading to the fiasco, the source claimed.



The nuclear capable 2,000-km-plus range missile has a length of 20 meters, a diameter of one meter, weighs 17 tonnes and can carry a payload of around 1,000 kg. It was first tested on April 11, 1999.



The test launch was significant from India's strategic point of view because for the first time since the beginning of DRDO�s missile development programme, a missile was put under trial during night. The user trial was conducted by Army officials while scientists from DRDO were present to provide necessary logistical support.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Quote:24 Nov 2009, 0859 hrs IST

In a set back for India's missile program, the nuclear-capable Agni-II missile, which was to be test fired for the first time at night on Monday (November 23), failed to get the desired results.



The Army test-fired the surface-to-surface Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) from Wheelers Island, Bhadrak district, around 7.50pm on Monday.



According to sources, the liftoff and the first stage separation was smooth. But a snag developed just before the second stage separation and the missile deviated from its coordinated path.



The test launch was significant from India's strategic point of view as it was for the first time since the beginning of DRDOs missile development programme, a missile was tested in the night.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Quote:CNN-IBN

BIG SHOW: Agni II missile is seen in a rehearsal for the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi.



New Delhi: The first-ever night firing of the Agni-II Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) on Monday failed, admitted Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).



DRDO is investigating the cause of the failure.



The nuclear capable missile was test-fired on Monday night from the Wheeler Island off Orissa coast.



Agni-II was test-fired from a mobile launcher intended to train the end-user, the Strategic Force Command of the Indian Army, to operate the missile in adverse conditions.



Even though the missile took-off smoothly and reported no glitch in the first stage separation, the missile appeared to have failed to meet the desired results mid-way at the second stage separation, DRDO sources said.



Strategic Forces Command conducted the test with necessary logistic support by various ITR laboratories and DRDO scientists.



The purpose of the test was to validate procedures for night firing.



The indigenous weapon is a two-stage solid propelled ballistic missile and has a weight of 17 tonnes and length of 20 metres. It can carry a payload of one tonne over a distance of 2,000 km.



Agni-II was developed by Advanced Systems Laboratory along with other DRDO laboratories and integrated with Bharat Dynamics Ltd, Hyderabad with the private sector participating in a big way in its production.



The missile is part of the Agni series which included Agni-I (700 km range) and Agni-III (3,500 km range). Agni-I was already inducted and Agni-III is in the process of induction, the officials added.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Quote: Dec 10, 2009 at 0502 hrs



He said the DRDO would aim for self reliance but only if it was cost-effective. “We would have to invest Rs 300- Rs 400 crore in critical technologies to enhance our self reliance. Sometimes it is not worth it as it is not cost effective. The first priority of the DRDO is to focus on technologies that have been denied to us,” Saraswat said.



‘Agni II test will be conducted again’



Saraswat said that the Agni II ballistic missile test that failed recently would be conducted again. It was a result of poor manufacture of components. “Certain components were of poor quality and we have already alerted the manufacturers about it. The test will be conducted soon,” he said.

Quote:4. A Hemant Rout article also makes claims about a foreign INS being replaced by a local one which did not perform on par...How far is this likely to be true ?

Quote:5. By the look of it, any credible ballistic missile requires around 10 tests, even if 3 are enough for IOC. Afre initial operationalization, continued credibility would require 2-3 tests/year ideally, 1-2 otherwise. When is A-III going to be tested next ? Will this A II failure have a bearing on A III testing ?

Quote:6. What about the possibility of BDL having difficulty absorbing the technology for production ? /possibility of sabotage during production ?

Quote:7. Possibility of greater degradation of certain components due to aging/handling than anticipated ?

Quote:8. Unkil's testing processes seem extremely rigorous. The trident II had 20 land launched development flights...3 were failures and all these occurred after 7-8 consecutive successful flights. Then came sub launched operational tests which had 2 failures among the first four. Seven more were successfully launched after that i.e, 26/31 when it first became fully operational. It has since had around 200 or more consecutive successful launches without a single failure.



The soviet R36M2 in spite of being a modification of the R-36MUttKh, (uprated engines by 10%) had 25/30 record when it went operational.....



The credibility in these cases is from a consistent testing process. That is the key.

Quote:Y. Mallikarjun

T. S. Subramanian



The Hindu 'Dhanush' Missile (a Naval Version of PRITHVI) has been successfully launched from INS Subhadra off Orissa Coast on Sunday. Photo: Special Arrangement



Dhanush, the ship-based anti-surface missile was successfully launched from a naval vessel, INS Subhadra in the Bay of Bengal, off the Orissa coast on Sunday. The missile was fired by Indian Navy personnel as part of user training exercise.



The nuclear-capable Dhanush is a naval version of Prithvi and was test-fired at 11.35 hrs. [color="#0000FF"]It flew over a range of 350 km[/color] and splashed down at the target point in the Bay of Bengal with “pin-point accuracy”, according to Defence Research & Development Organisation sources. The missile followed the pre-designated trajectory with text-book precision and two naval ships located near the target have tracked the splash.



The sources said that the 350-km range missile met all the velocity, height and guidance parameters. Radar systems of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) located along the coast have monitored the entire trajectory of the vehicle which flew for 520 seconds before zeroing on to the target with a CEP (circular error probability) of under 10 metres.



The single stage missile is powered by liquid propellants. It is 10-metre long and weighs six tonnes. It has one metre diameter and can carry 500 kg warhead.



Scientific adviser to Defence Minister V.K.Saraswat, who is also the Director-General DRDO, Major General (retd) P.C. Karbanda, who is Deputy National Security Adviser and Rear Admiral C.S.Patham, who is Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Strategic Forces Command were aboard INS Subhadra to witness the launch.



DRDO sources said that [color="#0000FF"]there would be two more flight tests of the nuke-capable Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile Agni-II ( 2,000 km plus range) in the coming months to overcome the failure of the missile in its previous two flights in May and November 2009.[/color] The sources added that during its last test in November,[color="#0000FF"] Agni-II had a problem at the time of ignition of the second stage. Its flex nozzle too did not function properly[/color]. Similar problem with flex nozzle occurred during the first Agni-III ( 3,500 km range) flight in July 2006.



The DRDO will test-fire K-15 ( underwater missile) from a submerged pontoon and its land version ‘ Shaurya’ in the coming months.

Quote:TNN 13 December 2009, 10:37pm IST



BALASORE: The navy on Sunday successfully testfired the nuclear-capable Dhanush missile from a warship off the Orissa coast. The success of the surface-to surface missile test has come as a big relief for the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), which was smarting from the twin failures of tests on Agni-II this year.



The Dhanush trial termed as "trainer exercise" was conducted around 11:31 am. Defence sources said the missile was test-fired from INS Subhadra that was anchored about 35 km offshore from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, during its final operational configuration. Another warship, INS Rajput, provided essential support for the test. It was the sixth test of the anti-ship missile.



"All the operations for the launch were carried out by naval personnel. It has met all the mission objectives. All the events occurred as expected and was also monitored by the range sensors. It was a textbook launch and achieved fantastic mission accomplished," ITR director S P Dash said.



Dhanush, the indigenously developed naval version of the Prithvi short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), has a strike range up to 350 km and can carry 500 kg of conventional or nuclear warhead.



Developed by the DRDO under its ambitious Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), the missile is about 8.53 metres in length and 0.9 metre in diameter besides its launch weight about 4.4 tonnes. This single stage missile uses liquid propellant. It can be used as an anti-ship weapon as well as for destroying land targets depending on the range.



"During the Sunday's test which was aimed to study the control and guidance system of the missile and its other parameters besides providing training to the user, the missile maintained its intended trajectory before dropping into the sea," a source said. "The test launch was tracked from its take-off to impact point through an integrated network of sophisticated radars and electro-optic instruments for data analysis," he added.



The defence ministry had made elaborate preparations for the testfiring of Dhanush. A cautionary notice was issued to aviators and mariners to keep away from the area of splashdown in the Bay of Bengal.



V K Saraswat, scientific advisor to the defence minister, and the DRDO's district general and secretary were on-board the ship during the mission.

Quote:Y. Mallikarjun & T.S.Subramanian



350-km-range missile meets velocity, height and guidance parameters



Radar systems along the coast monitor the entire trajectory





HYDERABAD: Dhanush, the ship-based anti-surface missile, was successfully launched from INS Subhadra, in the Bay of Bengal, off Orissa on Sunday.



It was fired by Navy personnel as part of a user-training exercise.



The nuclear-capable Dhanush, a naval version of Prithvi, was test fired at 11.35 hrs. It flew over 350 km and splashed down at the target point in the Bay with “pinpoint accuracy,” according to official sources in the Defence Research & Development Organisation. The missile followed the pre-designated trajectory with text-book precision and two naval ships anchored near the target tracked the splash.



The sources said the 350-km-range missile met all the velocity, height and guidance parameters. The radar systems of the Integrated Test Range (ITR), located along the coast, monitored the entire trajectory of the vehicle, which flew for 520 seconds before zeroing in on the target with a circular error probability (CEP) of below 10 metres.



The single-stage missile is powered by liquid propellants; it is 10 metres long and weighs six tonnes. It has one-metre diameter and can carry a 500-kg warhead.



V.K. Saraswat, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister who is also the Director-General of the DRDO; Major General (retd.) P.C. Karbanda, who is Deputy National Security Adviser; and Rear Admiral C.S. Patham, who is Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Forces Command, were aboard INS Subhadra to witness the launch.



The sources said there would be two more flight tests of the nuclear-capable Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile Agni-II (2,000 km-plus range) to overcome its failure in the two previous flights, in May and November 2009. The sources said that during its last test in November, Agni-II had a problem at the time of ignition of the second stage. Its flex nozzle, too, did not function properly.



A similar problem with the flex nozzle occurred during the first Agni-III (3,500-km range) flight in July 2006.

Quote:Subhashish Mohanty / DNA



India successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable ballistic missile Dhanush on Sunday. The surface-to-surface missile with a strike range of 350 km was fired around 11.30 am from INS Shubhadra 35km off the integrated test tange (ITR) at Chandipur in the Bay of Bengal.



The missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is considered the naval version of Prithvi. “It was a textbook launch and a fantastic mission accomplished. It met all mission objectives and all events occurred as expected,” ITR director SP Dash said.



DRDO officials and ITR scientists were relieved after Dhanush’s successful launch. They were under tremendous pressure following recent test failures of two Agni-II missiles. Dhanush can carry a single warhead weighing up to 500kg and hit off and on-shore targets. The missile is about 8.53 m long and 0.9 m in diameter. While its launch weight is about 4.4 tonnes, it uses a single-stage liquid propellant engine.



The missile had failed its first development-stage test on April 11, 2000, due to a technical snag. But later, DRDO achieved success. The last trial of Dhanush was successfully conducted from a naval ship off Orissa coast on March 30, 2007.

Quote:Agencies Posted online: Sunday , Dec 13, 2009 at 1814 hrs

Balasore, Orissa : India successfully tested a nuclear-capable ballistic missile 'Dhanush', a naval variant of Prithvi with 350 km range, from a warship in Bay of Bengal off the Orissa coast.



The single-stage ship-based missile was flight-tested at around 11.31 am from INS Subhadra ship 35 km off shore the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near here, defence officials said.



Describing the trial as successful, ITR director S P Dash said, "It has met all the mission objectives and all the events occurred as expected and also monitored by the range of sensors. It was a text book launch and fantastic mission accomplished."



'Dhanush' has a payload capacity of 500 kg and is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads. It can hit both sea and shore-based targets. The missile, which has liquid propellant, is the naval version of India's indigenously developed surface-to-surface 'Prithvi' missile system, the officials said.



The test launch of 'Dhanush', developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation, was carried out by Navy, a DRDO press release said.



"Today's test was tracked from its take-off to impact point through an integrated network of sophisticated radars and electro-optic instruments for post-mission data analyses," the officials said.



The scientific advisor to Defence Minister A K Antony, V K Saraswat was on-board the ship during the mission, the DRDO release said. The missile had failed in its first test at the development stage on April 11, 2000 due to certain technical problems relating to the take-off stage, but subsequent trials were successful.



The last trial of 'Dhanush' was successfully conducted from a naval ship off Orissa coast on March 30, 2007, defence personnel said.

Quote:Salient Features

Displacement : 324 cc

Type : Single rotor Wankel engine

Idle speed : 2700–2900 rpm

Cooling : Water cooled housings and air cooled rotor

Power output : 55 bhp at 8000 rpm

Compression ratio : 9.2:1

Specific fuel consumption : 250 gm/bhp hr

Lubrication system : Total loss type forced lubrication