Quote: Lightning Bolts

First Maneuvering Reentry Vehicles

by William Yengst



[url="http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-61566-547-1"]Lightning Bolts[/url]

First Maneuvering Reentry Vehicles



by William Yengst



"History shows that demands of wartime military and political leaders have often motivated development of new and advanced technologies. The German desire to attack American cities with long-range variants of V-2 missiles during the latter years of World War II stimulated development of maneuvering reentry vehicle concepts. In the mid-1960s, these concepts were secretly refined and tested by the United States to provide accurate delivery of strategic nuclear warheads at intercontinental ranges and to assure their penetration of newly developed Soviet anti-ballistic missile defenses.



First Maneuvering Reentry Vehicles, by William C. Yengst, describes the initial feasibility programs to test three alternative designs for implementing hypersonic maneuvers and accurate guidance of long-range reentry vehicles. It identifies the political and military motivations, environmental challenges, design difficulties, innovative technology solutions, test failures, and spectacular successes. It also summarizes development of operational maneuvering reentry vehicles prepared for U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Army long-range missile systems during the 1980s. The technology has been adopted and further refined by foreign nations (India, China and Russia) in building their latest missile systems. Therefore, it is important to understand the capabilities and performance characteristics of future potential threats.



Written as a first-hand account of the technology's evolution, the book honors the dedicated engineers and scientists who worked to make these programs a success."



308 pages - $16.99 (paperback)





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$10.99 (digital download)

Quote:From: William Yengst[email="wyengst@roadrunner.com"][/email][indent]]

Sent: 25 May 2009

Subject: Agni RV-Mark2 assembly line photo



Dear Sir,

As a retired missile engineer, I have written a book entitled "The First Maneuvering Reentry Vehicles," which is scheduled for publication late in 2009 by Tate Publishing Limited.



The manuscript describes the history of MRV technology from the German World War II concepts and experiments through several U.S. development programs.



From 1964 through 1982, I was the Aerospace Corporation manager for general systems engineering and technical direction of the MBRV, BGRV, MARCAS, and Pershing II reentry vehicles. To illustrate the continued technology development, I have included a chapter on Agni II and Agni III vehicle designs as well as Chinese and recent Russian Topol-M MRV concepts.



During my research on Agni II, I found an excellent photograph of a complete vehicle (Agni RV-Mark 2 on assembly line), in the Internet article, "Agni-Strategic Ballistic Missile," by Arun Vishwakarma

([url="http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MISSILES/Agni.htm"]http://www.bharat-ra...SSILES/Agni.htm[/url]). I would very much like to receive your permission to reprint the picture in my book to illustrate the continued technology development. The textual presentation is strictly scientific with no political or military commentary concerning the missile system. I am greatly impressed by the simple but highly technical approach Bharat Rakshak has taken in developing this design.



Please let me know by "written permission" if I may reprint the photograph. I will be pleased to abide by any conditions, including giving Bharat Rakshak and DRDO credit for the picture. I will consider a fee for

use of the picture and will gladly send you copies of my book once it is published. You may find details of our early U.S. MRV development experiments and innovative approaches interesting.



Thank you for consideration, William C. Yengst



[/indent]

Quote:Hello Arun,

Yes, you found the right image. As I indicated in my message, I am most interested in obtaining permission to reproduce the image. [color="#0000ff"] I have worked on maneuvering reentry vehicles for most of my 55-year career and thought it was time that someone put the entire history on paper. [/color] However, I did not want to stop with programs that I had personally worked on and[color="#0000ff"] wanted to present the Agni II as an example of newer technology[/color].



I will be pleased to send you a copy of the book when it is published and will consider a fee for use of the picture if required. It is a pleasure and honor to communicate with you...I have very much enjoyed reading your papers.



Sincerely, Bill Yengst

Quote:The test was abandoned when the radars following the target, a nuclear-capable missile, lost track of it after it blasted off from a site 200 kilometres (120 miles) from Bhubaneswar in eastern India.

"The 'hostile' missile went off the radars after it took off and deviated from its trajectory and so the interceptor was not launched," an official from Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said, asking not to be named.

DRDO spokesman Ravi Gupta in New Delhi confirmed the seven-metre (23-foot foot) interceptor missile was not launched during Monday's botched test.

India would join Israel, Russia and the United States in developing and possessing such technology if it is rolled out per schedule this year.

The system's tracking and fire control radars have been developed by the DRDO jointly with Israel and France.

Quote:DRDO scientists have revealed that the Shaurya is not a ballistic missile, as it has been thought to be; it is actually a hypersonic cruise missile, which never leaves the atmosphere.

Quote:The flight test under Programme AD was planned to be conducted on 15 Mar 2010 to demonstrate the interception of Tactical Ballistic Missile in endo-atmospheric region. As part of the mission, a target missile mimicking the incoming ballistic missile in terms of altitude and speed, was launched from ITR, Chandipur on 15 Mar 2010 at around 1010 hrs.



The target missile took off in normal way; at T+20 sec (approx) the target deviated due to some onboard system malfunction and could not maintain the intended trajectory, failing to attain the desired altitude profile. The Mission Control Centre computer found that the interception is not warranted as the deviated target did not present the incoming missile threat scenario and accordingly the system intelligently did not allow take-off of the interceptor missile for engaging the target. The cause of the target malfunction is being investigated by analysis of tele-metered data.

Quote:The target missile is fired from the Chandipur on sea launch site, and the wheeler island is about 70 Km downstream. The target missile will again likely be a Prithvi.



Now doesn't this sound like boost phase intercept because of the small distance involved? IIRC only one test off a sukanya class ship was a re-entry test (the test where supposedly both the PAD and the AAD were to be fired).

Quote:Shiv Aroor

Wed, Mar 17 01:27 PM



Shrouded in secrecy for its political implications, the first visual impressions of India's most ambitious nuclear delivery system, the Agni-5 ballistic missile, are out. Officials with the Agni programme in Hyderabad Confirmed the Pictures were an Accurate Depiction of the In-Development Weapon.



On February 10, Agni programme director Dr Avinash Chander had told Headlines Today, "The Agni-5 looks similar to the Agni-3, except that it is Longer as a result of an Additional Propulsion Stage."



Still at least a year away from its first test-firing-an official estimate says February 2011- the Agni-5 has already acquired a formidable global reputation. In October last year, in its first ever reference to an Indian weapon programme, China's state-owned People's Daily newspaper pointed out that "India's Agni-5 Missile is Highly Road-Mobile, and effectively puts Harbin, China's northernmost city within striking range."



The Agni-5 is being built to deliver a nuclear warhead out to ranges of 5,000-6,000/ km. Sources reveal that 60 per cent of the first Agni-5 missile system is complete, with work now focused on the weapon's crucial third stage. Scientists are currently tweaking the missile's payload structure, introducing extra heating and making alterations to the re- entry mechanism.



The missile will also be India's first to be propelled by a composite rocket motor as opposed to a metallic one. With the 3,500-km-range Agni-3 to Enter Service with India's Strategic Forces Command- which governs all nuclear weapons- This Year, the Agni-5 will be put through a similar Four-Flight Trial between 2011-2013.