Well following up from the Agni IV. A thinner all-composite Agni III fits in well with this report. It however must be phifeen point five tons instead of phipty phive tons and phourteen meters instead of phourty meters. Fits in well with minuteman. I wonder if it was the reporters bengali/hindi or the receivers bengali/hindi. To me it looks all bonglish. It's the classic Pha Bha mistake of the bongs. Bhi for V and so on.
Agni III/Agni IV/Agni V/ Agni V+ are all the same missiles, just variants. Agni V+ is the all composite variant of Agni V. It will just be MIRV for the world. It will not be tested from the description of the article.
Agni IV and Agni VI will share the same DNA. Agni IV will share the composite motors with Agni V and composite motors. But they are cousins rather than brothers. Agni VI is the new brother of Agni IV.
Will need more confirmation from a different report on the bonlish/hinglish error.
Added Later:
Further thoughts:
Well the 1.1 meters quote is consistent with the Agni II becoming Agni IV. it's still slim. It's a single warhead variant. A VI will be a AIII version of A IV. Agni III has a capability of launching 1.5 to 2 tons. It's 55 tons in weight. So likely the two missiles were mixed or the message was all mixed up.
So I won't be surprised if the final dimensions of the missile are 1.1 x 14 meters. With a range of 8 to 10k. It's the specs of Minuteman. Minuteman is a single warhead variant. Since we already have the MIRV Agni V and Agni V+ we weill now get a Agni III+ or Agni VI with a single warhead capability. To boot Agni V+ all composite will weigh 55 tons. Composites reduce the weight of the lower stage and carry more propellant. Payload weight was reduced by 60% in Agni V by using composites. Imagine an all composite missile with the dimensions of Agni V. That's one of the missiles. An all composite variant of Agni III with a shared DNA with Agni II +. That's the other missile a thinner 1.1 meter diameter missile 14 meters in length. We already have every technology in place. It's just a matter of fabricating it and testing it as a new configuration. So all this design and stuff is just to show we are scaling up. It's possible to launch in 3 months. However it will be like developing Agni V and Agni VI/ Agni III+ together. That's sending the wrong signals to the rest of the world.
So once Agni V production tests are over, we have two new variants to look forward to Agni VI pencil thin 1.1 meters related to brother Agni IV and Agni VII all composite related to Agni V. This will make our progress seem slower to the external world. We are not there yet. We are just learning. This is just a slow rise of India.
The Agni V+ will be the MIRV all composite variant of Agni V or the earlier stated Agni VI. This was also supposed to be submarine launched. Look up the goof up when Dr. Saraswat was promoted. This Agni VI was to be submarine based and land based. It's the same program. It's just being spun around to obfuscate.
So there is a possibility of two new missiles. Not just one as reported.
Of course this depends on Agni IV's DNA being viewed as a single warhead missile. Possibly counter-force missile. The Agni III/Agni V/ Agni V all composite being MIRV counter-value missiles. Of course the possibility of using MIRV for counter-force exists but it's going to be a waste of warheads to lob so many if we want only one target taken out in Tibet.
So Ramana was spot on earlier with his being prepared to wage nuclear war editorial which I have a very vague recollection of.
Agni II becomes Agni II+ single warhead variant.. 1.1 meters 1 ton payload
Agni III becomes Agni III+ single warhead variant ... Agni VI 1.1 meters 1 ton payload
Agni V all composite is Agni VII MIRV variant ... 2.1 meters 1.5 to 2 tons payload
Agni V becomes Agni V+ single warhead variant ... Agni VIII 1.1 meters 1 ton payload
Agni VII becomes Agni VII+ single warhead variant .... Agni IX 1.1 meters 1 ton payload
The later variants of counter force might require more innovation.
Maybe this is what Arun S posited earlier.
Agni III/Agni IV/Agni V/ Agni V+ are all the same missiles, just variants. Agni V+ is the all composite variant of Agni V. It will just be MIRV for the world. It will not be tested from the description of the article.
Agni IV and Agni VI will share the same DNA. Agni IV will share the composite motors with Agni V and composite motors. But they are cousins rather than brothers. Agni VI is the new brother of Agni IV.
Will need more confirmation from a different report on the bonlish/hinglish error.
Added Later:
Further thoughts:
Well the 1.1 meters quote is consistent with the Agni II becoming Agni IV. it's still slim. It's a single warhead variant. A VI will be a AIII version of A IV. Agni III has a capability of launching 1.5 to 2 tons. It's 55 tons in weight. So likely the two missiles were mixed or the message was all mixed up.
So I won't be surprised if the final dimensions of the missile are 1.1 x 14 meters. With a range of 8 to 10k. It's the specs of Minuteman. Minuteman is a single warhead variant. Since we already have the MIRV Agni V and Agni V+ we weill now get a Agni III+ or Agni VI with a single warhead capability. To boot Agni V+ all composite will weigh 55 tons. Composites reduce the weight of the lower stage and carry more propellant. Payload weight was reduced by 60% in Agni V by using composites. Imagine an all composite missile with the dimensions of Agni V. That's one of the missiles. An all composite variant of Agni III with a shared DNA with Agni II +. That's the other missile a thinner 1.1 meter diameter missile 14 meters in length. We already have every technology in place. It's just a matter of fabricating it and testing it as a new configuration. So all this design and stuff is just to show we are scaling up. It's possible to launch in 3 months. However it will be like developing Agni V and Agni VI/ Agni III+ together. That's sending the wrong signals to the rest of the world.
So once Agni V production tests are over, we have two new variants to look forward to Agni VI pencil thin 1.1 meters related to brother Agni IV and Agni VII all composite related to Agni V. This will make our progress seem slower to the external world. We are not there yet. We are just learning. This is just a slow rise of India.
The Agni V+ will be the MIRV all composite variant of Agni V or the earlier stated Agni VI. This was also supposed to be submarine launched. Look up the goof up when Dr. Saraswat was promoted. This Agni VI was to be submarine based and land based. It's the same program. It's just being spun around to obfuscate.
So there is a possibility of two new missiles. Not just one as reported.
Of course this depends on Agni IV's DNA being viewed as a single warhead missile. Possibly counter-force missile. The Agni III/Agni V/ Agni V all composite being MIRV counter-value missiles. Of course the possibility of using MIRV for counter-force exists but it's going to be a waste of warheads to lob so many if we want only one target taken out in Tibet.
So Ramana was spot on earlier with his being prepared to wage nuclear war editorial which I have a very vague recollection of.
Agni II becomes Agni II+ single warhead variant.. 1.1 meters 1 ton payload
Agni III becomes Agni III+ single warhead variant ... Agni VI 1.1 meters 1 ton payload
Agni V all composite is Agni VII MIRV variant ... 2.1 meters 1.5 to 2 tons payload
Agni V becomes Agni V+ single warhead variant ... Agni VIII 1.1 meters 1 ton payload
Agni VII becomes Agni VII+ single warhead variant .... Agni IX 1.1 meters 1 ton payload
The later variants of counter force might require more innovation.
Maybe this is what Arun S posited earlier.