Agni-1P
The Agni P is a two-stage canisterised solid propellant ballistic missile with dual redundant navigation and guidance system. This second flight-test has proven the reliable performance of all the advanced technologies integrated into the system.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was reported in 2016 to be developing Pakistan-centric missile called Agni-1P [Prime or Pakistan, take your pick for name] which will replace Prithvi and Agni-1 and will have a range of 300 to 700 kilometers. Agni-1P will be a two-stage, solid propellant missile with relatively latest technology which will vastly improve its accuracy but relatively will be reserved for High-value targets.
The new Agni-1P was predicted to be shorter than current Prithiv-1 and also a lot thinner in diameter, which makes it highly compact and portable in size. Agni-1P like the larger Agni-V will come with Composite Canisters so it makes them highly mobile along with better operational flexibility. Both stages of the missiles will comprise of composite rocket motors, guidance systems with electromechanical actuators, and inertial navigation systems based on advanced ring-laser gyroscopes. This will be very accurate and lightweight, mostly to take out bunkers of NCA spread across Pakistan.
Agni P is the first of the new class of Agni missile to be launched by DRDO. The ballistic missile weighs 50% less than Agni 3 and has new guidance and a new generation of propulsion. Although dimensions are poorly characterized, the actual missile had a larger diameter than initially predicted. Since the missile is canisterised, it can be launched from rail and road and stored for a longer period and transported all across the country as per operational requirements. The missile, which has a range between 1000km to 2000km [much greater than the 300 to 700 kilometer range initially predicted - hence the larger diameter motors], can be used to target enemy armadas in the Indo-Pacific.
India successfully carried out the test-firing of a new missile in the Agni series known as Agni P on 28 June 2021 off the coast of Odisha, officials said. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested the new generation nuclear-capable ballistic missile from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam island at 10:55am off the coast of Odisha. “Various telemetry and radar stations positioned along the eastern coast tracked and monitored the missile. The missile has followed textbook trajectory, meeting all mission objectives with a high level of accuracy,” DRDO said in a statement.
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully tested the new generation nuclear capable ballistic missile 'Agni P' from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam island off the coast of Odisha at 1106 hrs on December 18, 2021. Various telemetry, radar, electro-optical stations and down range ships positioned along the eastern coast tracked and monitored the missile trajectory and parameters. The missile followed text book trajectory meeting all mission objectives with high level of accuracy.
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO for the successful flight test and expressed his happiness for the excellent performance of the system. Secretary Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy appreciated the efforts of the team to have done the second development flight trial with many additional features and congratulated for the consecutive success within the same calendar year.
The Indian military conducted a test launch of the Agni-P missile 08 June, 2023 off the coast of Odisha and declared it successful. This was the third successful test launch of the missile. The Indian military stated that this was a night launch test aimed at testing the nighttime emergency launch capability and full missile flight attitude of the Agni-P missile.
The Agni-P missile is an Indian version of the anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM). Its research and development goal is to equip a land-based anti-ship missile with a range of 1,500 kilometers, which can be launched from most parts of India, covering the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, to enhance India's future maritime capabilities against aircraft carrier battle groups in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The ability to refuse.
It can be seen from India's research and development goals that this seems to be an Indian version of the Dongfeng-21D anti-ship missile. From the current situation announced by the Indian military, the Agni-P is a missile that is loaded with solid fuel and can pass over land. A medium-range ballistic missile launched from a mobile platform. So can the Agni-P missile really become an aircraft carrier killer in the Indian Ocean as India claims?
As early as around 2010, after learning that China was developing anti-access weapons such as DF-21D and DF-26B to counter the US Navy, India also began an ambitious research and development plan, specializing in maritime area denial weapons. As the Chinese Navy begins to equip aircraft carriers, senior Indian military officials believe that the Agni-P missile is a key component of India's Indo-Pacific strategy. India must be able to deal with the threat to India after the emergence of Chinese aircraft carrier battle groups in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. Especially after China set up a support base in Djibouti, Africa, India believed that the probability of the Chinese navy appearing in the Indian Ocean was very likely to increase. India's naval and air force alone could no longer cope with it, so it turned to anti-access/area denial (A2/AD). Technology-wise, India is full of interest and has ambitious R&D plans. Due to China's previous success, India no longer needs to consider the feasibility of ballistic missiles against moving surface ships. It only needs to miniaturize the Agni series missiles and equip its warheads with the capability of a maneuverable loading vehicle (MaRV).
Public information shows that India initially acquired the MaRV capability in 2013. The MaRV warhead equipped with the Agni-P missile has four delta wings that can be used for maneuvering at the end of the flight and has the ability to avoid interception by the missile defense system. In addition, the first and second stage thrusters of the Agni-P are made of composite materials, thus reducing the weight by half compared to the prototype Agni-III series. This technology is also used in the Agni-V series. missile. In fact, the Agni-P series missiles are not only used for anti-ship warfare. The Indian military intends to develop multiple models of the same series of missiles for attacking sea and ground targets, and gradually replace the old ones with new Agni-P series missiles. Agni-I, II and III missiles to enhance the overall combat capabilities of the Indian missile force.
India claims that the circumferential probability error of the Agni-P series is 10 meters, which barely reaches the accuracy standard of large surface ships such as anti-aircraft carriers. However, information released by India shows that the missile’s guidance method is inertial and satellite navigation guidance, but missiles that attack large surface moving ships must have radar and thermal imaging seeker capabilities at the end. Considering that India has not conducted any strike tests against moving targets so far, nor has it announced any information about the terminal guidance method of the missile, it can be temporarily determined that the Agni-P missile does not have the ability to use conventional warheads to strike large moving targets on the water. ability.
Of course, if Agni-P is equipped with a nuclear warhead, it will indeed pose a certain threat to large water targets such as aircraft carriers. However, considering that India has a small number of nuclear weapons, it does not have the tactical advantage of using nuclear weapons first.
In addition to the lack of terminal guidance capabilities, the previous incident of the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines also exposed India’s lack of long-term surveillance capabilities in the Indian Ocean region. I am afraid that at this stage, it needs the technology to discover, track, and lock aircraft carrier battle groups operating in the Indian Ocean region. The means are still insufficient, and the ability to timely assess the impact of the first round of strikes is lacking.
To sum up, the Agni-P missile that India has high hopes for does not yet have the ability to use a conventional warhead to fight aircraft carriers. Despite three successful test launches, its claimed area denial capabilities are still quite unreliable. However, India has also made great progress in medium- and long-range missile technology through the Agni-P project. At least the Agni-P missile is one of the few medium-range ballistic missiles in the Indian missile arsenal that has the capability of mobile deployment and all-weather combat readiness. It has great impact on neighboring countries.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
