References in the wake of Agni II
References in the wake of Agni II
I am looking for references by Indian policy makers that the Agni II test signified an operational and deployed missile force. Specifically comments by GF, RC and APJ would be much appreciated.
Re: References in the wake of Agni II
Rakesh, thanks.<P>I understand that there is a difference between the development of a missile and the warhead to be mated with it. I am quite sure that I have seen a comment by either APJ or GF (I think it was GF) specifically alluding to this.<P>This is what I was looking for.<P>Still searching.
Re: References in the wake of Agni II
Psmith: Thanks!<P>I also located an I-T page.
Re: References in the wake of Agni II
Rakesh: Here you go. As you will notice, the BR page did contain the quote.<P>Here is what a quick search on Altavista turned up regarding comments by George Fernandes and APJ Abdul Kalam, the head of Indias Military R&D outfit (DRDO).<BR> <BR>1. <A HREF="http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/apr12/lead.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanheral ... ead.htm</A> <BR>...Announcing this, Defence Minister George Fernandes said that<BR>operationalisation of the Agni missile system as a weapon had taken place. ...<BR> <BR>2. <A HREF="http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MISSILES/ ... April.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MISSILES/ ... il.html</A> <BR>..."Agni II is designed to carry a nuclear warhead if required," said Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, head of the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and architect of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), in a recent interview with India Today. He confirmed that India had already tested an Agni-class payload during the underground nuclear tests last year at the Pokhran desert range. ...<BR> <BR>3. <A HREF="http://www.india-today.com/itoday/26041999/defence.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.india-today.com/itoday/26041 ... ce.html</A> <BR>Q:Have you mated nuclear warheads that were tested in Pokhran with the Agni? <BR>A: Yes. Agni II is designed to carry a nuclear warhead if required. In any case, we had already tested an Agni-class payload at Pokhran last year. <BR> <BR>Q: With just one flight can you declare a system like Agni as a fully operational missile?<BR>A: Don't forget I have the data base of three earlier flight tests of Agni I, apart from the 16 flight tests of the Prithvi. Also, with improvements in technology we now monitor over 600 parameters on a flight and we have sophisticated ground simulations. So unlike in the '60s we don't require a number of tests to validate a missile design.<BR> <BR>4. <A HREF="http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/19 ... 12018.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/19 ... 18.html</A> <BR>Confirming the operationalisation of Agni-II as a weapons system, Fernandes said, ``It demonstrates our mobile launch capability. This will allow us to movein rugged areas with a compact weapons system''. On the question of the warhead, he said the missile can ``carry special weapons payload''. ...