India successfully test fired its advanced nuclear capable 4000 km range Agni-4 ballistic missile, off the coast of Odisha on Monday mornin...
India successfully test fired its advanced nuclear capable 4000 km range Agni-4 ballistic missile, off the coast of Odisha on Monday morning.
This was the third consecutive successful launch and the last in the series of development flight trials. The missile reached a height of over 850 km, covered the range in about 20 minutes, hit the target with two digit accuracy.
Agni-IV is lighter in weight and has two stages of solid fuel propulsion and a payload with re-entry heat shield. The re-entry heat shield withstood temperatures in the range of 4000 degree centigrade and made sure the avionics function normally with inside temperature reaching less than 50 degree centigrade. Compared to the 50 tonne Agni-3 with a range of 3000 km, Agni-4 weighs just 17 tonnes.
Agni-IV is equipped with modern and compact avionics with redundancy to provide high level of reliability, and fifth generation on board computer. It can correct and guide itself for inflight disturbances. The missile features a indigenous Ring Laser Gyros based high accuracy inertial navigation system (RINS) and Micro Navigation System (MINGS) complementing each other in redundant mode. The high performance onboard computer with distributed avionics architecture, high speed reliable communication bus and a full digital control system have controlled and guided the missile to the target.
Indian Agni series consists 5 ballistic missiles- Agni I (750km), Agni II (2500 km), Agni III (3000 km), Agni IV (4000 km) and Agni V (5000 km). Agni-I, II, III and Prithvi series (150-300 km ) missiles are already inducted into Indian armed forces. The Agni V missile has completed two successful test firings in 2012-13.
