Building India's Missile Muscle ; the Successful Launch of Agni 3 Puts India Streets Ahead of Pakistan and Gives It the Confidence to Deter Threats From China. But an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile Is Still a Long Way in the Making.

Summary

---

As a matter of habit, Avinash Chander unerringly calls up his wife, Anita, immediately after every missile test to inform her of its outcome. But on the morning of April 12, caught up in the exhilaration and relief at the successful launch of the Agni 3, the missile's programme director didn't make the customary call until much later. In Hyderabad, although television channels flashed the news of the launcher's success, Anita waited anxiously for the confirmation from Chander. For, last year, after Agni 3 was tested for the first time on July 9, the television had declared it "a partial success". But when Chander called up and she congratulated him, he had replied woefully, "Good you think it's good news because it really isn't."

On its first launch, the Agni 3 had ignominiously plunged into the Bay of Bengal barely 65 seconds after lifting off from the Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa. India's maiden effort to launch a missile beyond 3,000 km to bring much of China under its reach had, in fact, ended on a disheartening note. In the months following that fiasco, Anita saw little of Chander as he and his team put their heads together to pinpoint exactly what had gone wrong. Later, Chander would say it was like solving a murder mystery as they had to meticulously reconstruct the entire scene of the 'crime'.

See the full content of this document

Extract

---

Building India's Missile Muscle ; the Successful Launch of Agni 3 Puts India Streets Ahead of Pakistan and Gives It the Confidence to Deter Threats From China. But an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile Is Still a Long Way in the Making.

For the missile team, Agni 3 was by far the most difficult version of India's primary nuke weapon carrier. Five years in the making, Agni 3 was designed to be a stubbier and shorter version of Agni 2 but with the power to traverse an additional 1,000 km. To give it the extra thrust, scientists had to fabricate all new, solid- fuel rocket engines with diameters twice the size of Agni 2. They also developed a more accurate guidance system that enabled the missile to strike a target with an accuracy of a few hundred metres, the l...

See the full content of this document

---