Bharat Rakshak

The primary non-NASA XNAV applications would be to provide primary or secondary navigation services for DoD missions. For MEO, GEO, HEO, and even cis-lunar missions where GPS has limited availability, XNAV can provide primary autonomous navigation capability. In addition, XNAV could provide an essential backup navigation capability for missions which normally rely on GPS but have a need for continuity of operations in the event of loss or denial of GPS. These applications are being actively studied through DARPA's XNAV program, and the Microcosm team has strong ties to that program.

lock on (infrared) before launch sounds very interesting.. it would be really interesting to find infra jammers for 7km range walas. is there one?

Preparations are on at the Wheelers Island off the Odisha coast for a series of tests of three Agni missiles, including the maiden test of India’s longest-range ballistic missile Agni-5. They will be held shortly. Prior to the first development trial of 5,000-km range Agni-5, the DRDO has planned to conduct two user trials of 700-km range Agni-1 and 2,000-km range Agni-2 missile.
As India is attempting its first intercontinental missile test, scientists are leaving no stone unturned for a successful mission. A defence official said the three missiles would require three separate range configurations.
Hence, they would be test-fired on three occasions between April 18 and April 25.

TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE
India’s most potent missile Agni V all set for launch
By Raj Chengappa

SNEAK PEAK: Agni V being readied for launch at Wheeler Island

In the remote Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast, the countdown has begun for the first test of India's most sophisticated and powerful ballistic missile ever built, Agni V.

If all goes well, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) which built the missile, is expected to launch Agni V on Wednesday, April 18, from the Island.

With a planned range of 5,000 km, the Agni V will traverse 2,000 km more than any Indian missile has ever done. Wednesday's launch will see the missile first power its way to a vertical height of 500 km in the atmosphere before following a ballistic trajectory that will see it splash down in the Indian Ocean way beyond Indonesia.

A commercial jetliner would take over six hours to traverse such a distance. But Agni V, travelling at 24 times the speed of sound and 30 times faster than a commercial jet, will traverse that distance in just 18 to 20 minutes. In doing so, it will become not just the longest range ballistic missile in India's strategic armoury but also its fastest. Most importantly, Agni V would put most of China's major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, within Indian missile range.

Speaking exclusively to The Tribune, Vijay Kumar Saraswat, DRDO Chief and Scientific Adviser to the Union Defence Minister, said, "In terms of performance, Agni V is the ultimate step for India in terms of ballistic missile technology. It is pushing at the outer limits of the Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) class."

What Saraswat is unwilling to explicitly state, is that a successful test of Agni V would give India the capability of building long-range Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, ICBMs or missiles that can reach targets of 8,000 km or more. (Meaning its probably got a range of 8,000 km depending on the payload)

With a warhead weight of 1,500 kg (1.5 tonne) Agni V will ultimately be capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads giving it deadly strike capability.

Agni V would be a significant step up from the range of Agni missiles that India currently has in its armoury. Agni I goes to 700 km and Agni II, 2000 km. Both these are primarily meant to target Pakistan, giving India a capability to strike its neighbour from any part of the country.

Agni III and Agni IV are missiles in the 3,000 km class meant for China and other regional neighbours. The distance though is a limitation as these classes of missiles would be unable to strike many of China's strategic cities or locations. So the need for Agni V.

Speaking exclusively to The Tribune from the Wheeler Island, where final tests are being done for Agni V, Avinash Chander, DRDO's Chief Controller R&D (Missiles and Strategic Systems), said, "There are many firsts we are incorporating in Agni V, these include two all new composite motors that would propel the missile to distances bordering ICBM capabilities."

At 17 metres in height, Agni V is almost 5 stories tall and has a diameter of two meters - similar to that of the giant main sewage pipelines that are laid in most Indian cities. Agni V is short and squat as compared to India's space rockets.

Almost three years in the making, Agni V is a three-stage rocket that, Chander says, has one of the most highly developed guidance systems that the DRDO has ever built to enable it to strike targets at great distance with stunning accuracy.

While the first stage motor is similar to the one used in Agni III, the second and third stage motors are brand new and built of light composite materials that are being flight tested for the first time. "It reduces weight and gives the missile greater punch,'' says Chander.

Though the first launch would be from a static harness at the Island, Agni V would have tremendous road mobility once it is fully developed. These include a canister launch which means that it gives India "stop and launch" capability from any part of the country. "Once we successfully test Agni V we would have broken the barrier of long range ballistic missile systems,'' says Saraswat.



Missile Muscle

n With a range of 5,000 km, Agni V will traverse 2,000 km more than any other Indian missile

n Travelling at 24 times the speed of sound, Agni V will traverse 5,000 km in just 20 minutes

n If successful, it will give India the capability of striking all major Chinese cities, including Shanghai

n The technology being used in Agni V will ultimately give India the capability to build Inter-Continental Ballisitic Missiles (ICBMs)

No Vented interstage.

You need an interstage to connect the motors.

No other way.

The materials have changed from Al based alloys to composites with their own issues.

also to me, the blue cone looks smaller relative to black cone in both length and width-at-base.

mach24 is true ICBM territory....the topols and tridentD5 of the world. whatever fig leaf of this being a meek IRBM++ gets blown off by that statement alone.

The payload is a unitary one like in AIII and not a bus with MIRVs yet.

Quite. but how does that sit with the 500 km apogee.