Indian Missile News And Discussion

[Arun_S]

[url="http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article104821.ece?homepage=true"]‘We are ahead of Chinese in missile programme’[/url]

New Delhi, February 11, 2010, HINDU

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Director V.K. Saraswat on Wednesday said that India's anti-ballistic missile defence programme is ahead of China's programme.



Mr. Saraswat said the country is also gearing to test its indigenous Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) shield in near future, a programme, he claimed, is more sophisticated than the Chinese one.



“This is one area where we are senior to China,” he said when asked to compare Indian BMD programme with that of China, which carried out its first test-firing on January 14.



He said the Indian programme had started in 2006 and had 60-70 per cent indigenous content in it.



Mr. Saraswat said Indian BMD development programme would have two phases.



"In the first phase, which goes upto 2,000 km range, we will carry out exo-atmospheric, endo-atmospheric and high altitude interceptions and in the second phase, we will take care of targets beyond 5,000 km range."



On the dates of test of the BMD shield, he said it was expected to be carried out within this month.



He was addressing a press conference on the recent test firing of Agni-III missile, which has strike range of 3500 k.m. and is now ready for induction in the armed forces.



Nirbhay



India has completed the propulsion system design of its new cruise missile ‘Nirbhay’ which will have a strike range of 800 kms, Mr. Saraswat has said.



“The development of the system is on. We have completed the propulsion system’s design. But we have not integrated it. Once we reach the integration stage, we will show it you,” he told reporters here last night.



Mr. Saraswat said the missile is a technology demonstrator.



India already has in its arsenal ‘BrahMos’, a 300-k.m. range cruise missile developed in collaboration with Russia. It has various versions for use by all the three wings of the armed forces.



Mr. Saraswat announced that Sunday's test of the Agni- III missile would clear the decks for the induction of the missile into the services.



The test, carried out by Strategic Forces Command sets the stage for the induction of nuclear-tipped missile.



China had only one missile in the 2500-km category, the DF-21 and was now focused only on building intercontinental range missiles (ICBMs) of the DF-31 and DF-41 in the 6000- 10,000 km range.



"But our accuracies are better than the Chinese missiles," Dr Saraswat said.



China, in January 2007, had displayed its anti-ballistic missile capabilities while knocking out a disused satellite in space. This was the world's first declared A-SAT test.



Earlier in January, the Chinese declared that they had successfully tested a ground-based mid-range anti ballistic missile.



"China only had the building blocks for an ATBM," Mr. Saraswat said.



"We started our ATBM programme in 1999 and in terms of capabilities, we are way ahead of them," he added.



Mr. Saraswat said India had perfected the building blocks for an A-SAT weapon but there were no plans to field any such system.

[url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/N-tipped-Agni-V-can-hit-all-of-China-Pak/articleshow/5558520.cms"]N-tipped Agni-V can hit all of China, Pak[/url]

Rajat Pandit, TNN, 11 February 2010, 04:05am IST, ToI

NEW DELHI: Brimming with confidence after last week's successful Agni-III test, India now hopes to test its first-ever intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) within a year. This nuclear-capable Agni-V missile will be able to hit even northernmost China.



Moreover, in the backdrop of Beijing testing anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons and ballistic missile defence (BMD) systems, DRDO chief V K Saraswat on Wednesday said India already had the 'building blocks' for ASAT weapons and was far ahead of China in the BMD arena.



DRDO, in fact, will conduct the fourth test of its two-tier BMD system, designed to track and destroy hostile missiles both inside (endo) and outside (exo) the earth's atmosphere, towards end-March/early-April. But all eyes are now on Agni-V, which with a range of over 5,000-km can arguably be called an ICBM, usually used to denote a missile capable of hitting targets over 5,500 km away.



Why is India not developing true-blue ICBMs, especially since Chinese missiles like Dong Feng-31A have a range of 11,200-km?



"We have the capability. But the missile's range and lethality is based on the immediate objective of threat mitigation. Agni-V suits our present requirements," said Saraswat.



Being designed by adding a third composite stage to the two-stage 3,500-km Agni-III, the [color="#800080"]17.5-metre tall Agni-V[/color] will be a canister-launch missile system to ensure it has the requisite operational flexibility to be swiftly transported and fired from anywhere. Consequently, if launched from near the Line of Actual Control, the solid-fuelled Agni-V will be able to hit China's northernmost city of Habin. Both Agni-III, which DRDO says is now 'mature' for induction, and Agni-V will add muscle to India's '[color="#800080"]dissuasive deterrence'[/color] [color="#ff0000"]{Arun_S: Why Indians only speak good sounding words to create deterrence?. Should first make deterrent weapons, not just vehicles; weapon consisting of "warheads and vehicles".}[/color] posture against China.



Moreover, DRDO is also developing MIRV (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles) warheads for Agni missiles. An MIRV payload on a missile carries several nuclear warheads, which can be programmed to hit different targets. A flurry of such missiles can hence completely overwhelm BMD systems.



But unlike China, which fired a missile to bring down a satellite in January 2007, India will not test a 'real' ASAT weapon. "It will lead to debris in space. We can simulate a test on ground using an 'electronic' satellite. We have the building blocks for it," said Saraswat.



[color="#800080"]"Agni-III's propulsion system coupled with the BMD system's 'kill vehicle' will compose an ASAT weapon. The propulsion system is adequate to carry the ASAT warhead to 1,000-km altitude," said Saraswat.[/color]

[url="http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=%E2%80%98India+senior+to+Chinese+missile+programme%E2%80%99&artid=DkFNlaf9XTs=&SectionID=b7ziAYMenjw=&MainSectionID=b7ziAYMenjw=&SEO=Inter-Continental+Ballistic+Missiles+%28ICBM%29&SectionName=pWehHe7IsSU="]



DRDO: Agni-V will be tested in a year[/url]

[url="http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/searchresult.aspx?AliasName=qK1tLBLX%7CpILczNiCZRSYEHJtp5ChTm2"]Express News Service[/url] First Published : 11 Feb 2010 03:17:00 AM IST Last Updated :

NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday claimed that it has no plans to experiment with shooting down satellites even though it has the capacity to take on targets in outer space, said head of India’s defence scientists V K Saraswat, who also announced that country’s longest range missile, Agni-V, will be tested within a year.Fears of militarisation of outer space after China’s controversial test-shooting of a satellite in 2007 had only grown after India showed willingness to join the race. India’s top defence scientist said that the country has no programme actually to send a satellite killing missile in space and would rather carry out simulated experiments using electronic target instead of taking on a physical satellite.As he had done in the past, Saraswat claimed that the building blocks of the antisatellite system were in place and can be utilised as and when required. India’s tug of war with China over military applications of space was not limited to anti-satellite system, New Delhi is now entering the arena of developing missiles that can hit target beyond 5000 km. China has stolen the march on the Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) front as it already taken the lead.India’s first ICBM – Agni V – is out of the design table and the scientists were expecting its first trial within a year. It would have a range of 5,000 km and would be India’s first three-stage missile. India has no plans to go beyond Agni-V at this point of time as the current arsenal of missiles would be sufficient to meet country’s strategic objective.“A-V is adequate for us in terms of range and lethality,” said DRDO chief signalling that the Agni series will not go beyond A-V.A brief description of the missile was shared by Saraswat and mission director Avinash Chander.Agni-V is a derivative of Agni-III that was successfully tried on February 7. “Sixty percent of Agni-V is Agni-III,” said Avinash Chander. The basic difference is that the Agni-V would be a three-stage missile but the warhead, payload and the yield of the two missiles would exactly be the same. [color="#9932cc"]In dimensions also the missiles are almost same except that Agni-V would be 0. 5 metres taller.[/color] [color="#ff0000"]{Arun_S: This is second report that mentions 17.5 m, so Livefist report of 22 meter from verbal chat w him is wrong} [/color] Agni-III is 17 metres long with two metre diameter.After three successful trials in a row, the 3500 km- ranged Agni-III was ready for induction, announced Saraswat. It is much faster than the other missiles which took much larger number of trials. The test on Sunday was carried out by Strategic Forces Command, handlers of India’s nuclear arsenal.The missile is comparable to China’s DongFeng-21 medium range ballistic missile.The scientists claimed that they have completely mastered the missile technology and it is a fully indigenous effort in which the local industry played critical role.