Agni IV missile is displayed at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi. AFP file Photo.
India on Wednesday test-fired its nuclear-capable strategic missile Agni-IV with a strike range of about 4000 km from a test range off Odisha coast. It was test launched with the help of a mobile launcher from launch complex-4 of ITR at Wheeler Island, about 100 km from Balasore, at about 1145 hours, defence sources said. A high performance on-board computer with distributed avionics architecture and high speed reliable communication bus and a full Digital Control System were used to control and guide the missile to the target. "It is equipped with modern and compact avionics to provide high level of reliability," a DRDO official said. "The state-of-the-art Ring Laser Gyros based high accuracy INS (RINS) and Micro Navigation System (MINGS) complementing each other in redundant mode have been incorporated into the missile system in guidance mode," the sources said. The sophisticated missile is lighter in weight and has two stages of solid propulsion. The payload, with a re-entry heat shield?can withstand temperature of more than 3000 degree Celsius, a defence scientist said. The missile, is undergoing developmental trials by country's premier defence research and development organisation.The last trial of the missile, carried out on November 15, 2011 from the same base was successful. India follows Pakistan with missile test Pakistan, which has fought three wars with arch-rival India since their 1947 independence, test-fired a nuclear-capable cruise missile on Monday with "stealth features". DRDO spokesman Gupta insisted India's test was not "country-specific". "None of our missiles are country-specific. We are a peaceful nation which has never attacked any country in thousands of years," the DRDO spokesman added. India unveiled its 5,000-kilometre range Agni-V in April, which was seen as a massive boost to its regional power aspirations and one that narrows -- albeit slightly -- the huge gap with China's missile systems. Agni-V a definite game changer
The Agni-V left India knocking at the door of a select club of nations with inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), which have a minimum range of 5,500 kilometres. Currently only the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- possess a declared ICBM capability. China and India fought a brief but bloody war in 1962 over a border dispute that remains unresolved despite several rounds of talks between Asia's two most militarily-powerful nations. Agni, which means "fire" in Sanskrit, is the name given to a series of rockets the DRDO developed as part of its ambitious integrated guided missile development project launched in 1983. While the shorter-range Agnis I and II were mainly developed with traditional rival Pakistan in mind, later versions with longer range reflect the shift in India's focus towards China. Source: Hindustan Times
The Agni-V left India knocking at the door of a select club of nations with inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), which have a minimum range of 5,500 kilometres. Currently only the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- possess a declared ICBM capability. China and India fought a brief but bloody war in 1962 over a border dispute that remains unresolved despite several rounds of talks between Asia's two most militarily-powerful nations. Agni, which means "fire" in Sanskrit, is the name given to a series of rockets the DRDO developed as part of its ambitious integrated guided missile development project launched in 1983. While the shorter-range Agnis I and II were mainly developed with traditional rival Pakistan in mind, later versions with longer range reflect the shift in India's focus towards China. Source: Hindustan Times
