Agni
| Country: | India |
|---|---|
| Class: | MRBM |
| Basing: | Surface based |
| Length: | 21.00 m |
| Diameter: | 1.30 m |
| Launch Weight: | 19000 kg |
| Payload: | Single warhead, 1000 kg |
| Warhead: | Nuclear 45 or 200 kT, HE, chemical, submunitions |
| Propulsion: | First-stage solid, second-stage liquid |
| Range: | 700-1200 km |
| Status: | Operational |
Details
The Agni is an antiquated short range, surface-based, liquid-propellant ballistic missile. Only five to ten systems are still reported as active. Most notably, the Agni, originally designated Agni-1 but changed due to program realignment, served as the basis for the more advanced Agni systems: Agni-2, Agni-3 and the more recent short-range Agni-1. However, in the case of hostile action from both China and Pakistan, the Agni would likely be deployed purely as a stopgap measure.
India's development of the Agni began in 1979 under the direction of the Indian Deference Research and Development Organization (DRDO). The Agni is 21.0 m in length, has a diameter of 1.3 m in the first stage, 0.9 m in the second stage, and has a launch weight of 19000 kg. Its payload is a single warhead, weighing no more than 1,000 kg. The Agni may be fitted with warheads containing 800 kg of payload, either nuclear (45 or 200 kT), chemical, high-explosive, or submunitions.
The missile uses a two-stage solid/liquid propellant engine. Its first-stage motor is similar to the first-stage, solid propellant rocket motor in the Indian Satellite Launch Vehicle-3. The SLV-3 was based on the US Scout rocket design and has been used in other satellite launches since 1979. The Agni's second-stage uses the liquid propellant motor system that is used in the Prithvi missile. The missile's range is between 700 km and 1200 km depending on the respective payload, with an accuracy of 100 m CEP, provided by an inertial guidance system coupled to an optical correlation system in the warhead.1
The missile’s first operational test launch was made in May 1989, when a trial missile flew approximately 1,000 km.2 In 1996, however, the Indian government terminated the Agni program, explaining that it was not developed for use as a weapon, but rather as a demonstrator of technological capabilities. In 1997 the Agni program was reestablished.Sources indicate that China’s new solid-propellant missile may have instigated this resurgence.3 When this occurred the original missile gained the designation Agni while the new missile was called Agni-1.
Despite the termination of the program, between five and ten missiles remained in operational storage. It is believed that they may have been upgraded to Agni-2s. It is possible that the missiles are kept in storage in case India faces asimultaneous threat fromChina and Pakistan.4
