Times of India, PTI | Feb 20, 2018,
BALASORE: India on Tuesday test-fired its medium range nuclear capable Agni-II missile with a strike range of 2,000km from Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast, defence sources said.
The trial of the surface-to-surface missile was conducted from a mobile launcher at the launch complex-4 of the integrated test range (ITR) at around 8.38am, the sources said.
The Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) has already been inducted into the services and Tuesday’s test was carried out by the Army’s strategic forces command (SFC) with logistic support provided by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), they said.
The 20-mt-long Agni-II ballistic missile has a launch weight of 17 tonne and can carry a payload of 1,000kg over a distance of 2,000km.
The state-of-the-art missile, already a part of the country’s arsenal for strategic deterrence, was launched as a training exercise by the armed forces, a DRDO scientist said.
Agni-II, a two-stage missile, equipped with advanced high accuracy navigation system and guided by a unique command and control system, was propelled by solid rocket propellant system, he said.
The entire trajectory of the trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and two naval ships located near the impact point in the down range area of the Bay of Bengal.
Agni-II was developed by the advanced systems laboratory along with other DRDO laboratories and integrated by the Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad, sources said.
The missile is part of the Agni series of missiles which includes the Agni-I with a 700km range, Agni-III with a 3,000km range, Agni-IV and Agni-V both having long range capabilities.
The first proto type of the Agni-II missile was carried out on April 11, 1999 and last launch was a user’s trial on May 4, 2017.
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Corruption is granted in DRDO, but we are waiting for Honorable Defence Minister’s honest strike
To
Hon’ble
Smt Nirmala Sitharaman,
Defence Minister,
104- South Block
New Delhi-110011
Subject: Corruption in DRDO
Madam,
Website received a letter with input of above subject please see and do needful investigation for corrective measures in DRDO working.
Regards
Prabhu Dandriyal,
21-Sunderwala, Raiput, Dehradun-248008
Phone 0135-2787750, Mobile 9411114879
Email prabhudoon@gmail.com website-www.corruptionindrdo.com
Enclosed
1. Photo Copy of received letter
DRDO’s cruise missile project Nirbhay on verge of closure
By Hemant Kumar Rout | Express News Service | Published: 23rd December 2016
BHUBANESWAR: Once a pride for Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India’s own cruise missile project Nirbhay is on the verge of closure.
A highly placed source told ‘The New Indian Express’ that the project is likely to be closed as the missile has failed to deliver desired results even 12 years after the project was launched. A review of the project will be conducted shortly.
Nirbhay is the country’s first indigenously built long-range sub-sonic cruise missile which can be compared with America’s Tomahawk in terms of its capability. Designed by Bengaluru-based Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), the missile was designed to fly at different altitudes ranging from 500 meters to four km.
Launched in 2004 at a cost of Rs 48 crore, the projected date of completion (PDC) for the prestigious project was December 31, 2016. However, under trial since 2013, the missile is yet to perform as expected after four attempts in the last four years.
The project has been plagued with difficulties as the scientists are still struggling to fix the problems in the flight control software and navigation system while some others point fingers at the hardware.
While the Research Centre Imarat (RCI) blamed ADE-developed software, ADE was pointing towards the defective hardware supplied by RCI. “However, it could not be ascertained which is defective, whether the software or hardware, but Nirbhay missile failed in its fourth attempt,” an insider said.
There has been problem with the control software since beginning. The RCI had developed navigational hardware for their applications and it was adopted by ADE for Nirbhay. There are always differences between ADE and RCI regarding its functional efficacy, the source claimed.
Defence experts have raised questions on the requirement of such a subsonic missile, which can cruise at a speed of 0.8 Mach, when supersonic cruise missile BrahMos, developed jointly with Russia, is already inducted in the armed forces.
BrahMos, which flies at a speed of Mach 3, has a strike range of 290 km. Though Nirbhay can strike targets 1,000 km away, with India joining the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), it can now develop long range cruise missiles as joint ventures.
While initially the expected cost of ‘Nirbhay’ was around Rs 10 crore per piece, DRDO has so far spent more than Rs 100 crore on R&D and trials.
DRDO Chief Selvin Christopher and Project Director of Nirbhay Vasanth Sastri did not respond to the calls and queries from ‘The New Indian Express’. Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister G Satheesh Reddy, however, said he is unaware of any such move.
Agni 5, India’s Longest Range Ballistic Missile, Successfully Test-Fired – NDTV
NEW DELHI: India today successfully test-launched Agni-5, its longest range ballistic missile, for the third time off the Odisha coast. The missile was launched from a canister from Wheeler Island, giving it higher road mobility.
The three stage, solid propellant “missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher from the launch complex-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at about 8.06 hours,” ITR Director M V K V Prasad said.
“The missile, witnessed a flawless ‘auto launch’ and detailed results will be known after all data retrieved from different radars and network systems,” he added.
With a range of 5000 km, the nuclear-capable missile can carry a warhead in the east as far as all of China and in the west all over Europe.
The three-stage missile is about 17 metres long and weighs 50 tons. The first rocket engine takes it to a height of about 40 kilometres. The second stage pushes it to about 150 kilometres. The third stage takes it to about 300 kilometres above the Earth. And the missile finally reaches a height of about 800 kilometres.
The missile travels faster than a bullet and can carry 1000 kilogram of nuclear weapon. It can be launched only on direct orders from the Prime Minister; India hopes it turns out to be a weapon of peace not war.
Unlike other missiles of Agni series, the latest one ‘AGNI-5’, is most advanced having some new technologies incorporated with it in terms of navigation and guidance, warhead and engine, Mr Prasad said.
India carried out two successful tests of the basic version of Agni-5 in 2012 and 2013.
The development of Agni-5 began in 2009 and according to DRDO it will likely be inducted in 2015.
Agni-5 gives India the ability to launch nuclear weapons from land at will from anywhere in India. It will give India the ability to hit back or have second-strike capability even after a nuclear strike.
It was also a super charged farewell gift for DRDO chief Avinash Chander who retires today. India’s Integrated Missile Programme has been a resounding success with the Agni missiles giving the country a credible nuclear deterrence. As a scientist and team leader, Dr Avinash Chander has achieved significant success in his work.
Hunger strike by DRDO staff
THE HINDU 08-01-2014 (Page 4)
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Around 1,300 technical officers across DRDO labs in the country will go on mass casual and relay hunger strike on January 9 and 10 in protest against the withdrawal of grade pay of Rs. 4,800, which they claim resulted in downgrading of their positions.
As a result of the downgrading, technical officers of some of the labs were losing each month financially amounts varying from Rs.1,000 to Rs.5,000, according to G. Vidyanand Reddy, president, DRDO Technical Officers Association.
Describing the administration’s action as one-sided and undemocratic, the association said if not opposed, it would affect the democratic functioning of DRDO and fail the system.
