飞云
加入时间: 2004/02/14
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作者：飞云 在 罕见奇谈 发贴, 来自 http://www.hjclub.org
SPACE DREAMS GONE SOUR
Two successive failures send Indian scientists back to drawing board stage, says Huma Siddiqui
Agni III debacle adds to the setback
Posted online: Monday, July 17, 2006 at 0100 hours IST
The countdown was normal; liftoff was smooth and then disaster struck as the failure of the tracking control system of the 3,500-km Agni-III, coupled with inability of the ballistic missile’s second-stage to separate from the first, led to its unsuccessful maiden launch last week. And, as it crashed into the sea after climbing to a height of 12 km, the country’s nuclear counterstrike capability took a serious setback.
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists will now have to work swiftly to rectify the technical snags in Agni-III since it remains crucial for India’s nuclear deterrence plans against China. Specifically, the two-stage ballistic missile that is capable of nuclear weapons delivery with a 5,500 km range and a 1,500 kg payload, is intended to give India the capability to hit high-value targets deep inside China, including Beijing and Shanghai.
DRDO sources attributed the failure of the flight to the non-separation of the first stage from the second stage. “The launch did not meet all the mission requirements. A design failure is said to be the reason behind the non-separation of the first stage. Both the stages are powered by solid propellants,” sources said. The initial report on the exact reasons behind the “partially unsuccessful” testfiring of Agni-III will be presented to the defence minister Pranab Mukherjee soon.
The indigenously built Agni-III belongs to India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). Despite being launched in 1983, the integrated guided missile development programme has been repeatedly hit by time-overruns, cost escalations and technical snags. Other missiles in the Agni series that have undergone several flights include Agni, Agni-II and Agni-I. The IGMDP includes Trishul, Prithvi, Akash and Nag missiles.
Firepower
Agni I
Launch: May 22, 1989
• Short range ballistic missile with a single stage engine. It has a range of 850 km with a
1,000 kg payload.
Agni II
Launch: April 11, 1999
• Medium range ballistic missile with maximum range of 3,000 km and a 1,000 kg payload
Agni III
Launch: July 9, 2006
• Intermediate-range ballistic missile with a capability to deliver nuclear weapons up to a range of 5,500 km. The missile crashed into the Bay of Bengal.
Defence analysts said that Prithvi, with a strike range of 150 to 300 km, is the only ballistic missile to be fully inducted into the armed forces. Agni-I (700 to 800 km), meant primarily for Pakistan, and Agni-II (2,000-km-plus) missiles are still to become fully operational.
Sources said that many new technologies were tried in Agni-III – rocket motors with burn duration of more than 100 seconds, fault tolerant avionics and launch control systems. Flex nozzle control system, which helps in changing the thrust axis for the control of the missile, was also used. The mission team also tested the velocity of the vehicle that is capable of flying at 16 to 17 times the speed of sound.
Analysts said that Agni-III was to be launched in 2003-04 when the NDA government was in power but was postponed due to technical snags. It was re-scheduled for launch in February this year only to be deferred again in view of the visit of US President George Bush to India.
India is developing a series of Agni missiles with larger motor diameter, capable of heavier payload and longer range. This development is also driven by the need for a more assured retaliation that can defeat emerging anti-ballistic-missiles (ABM) defenses and countermeasures. Such capability requires a heavy but compact missile that can carry ABM counter measure payloads along with weapons.
While the test-firing of the 3,500-km range Agni-III paved the way for India to produce intercontinental range ballistic missiles, its failure is definitely a cause for concern amongst India’s defence planners and the scientists involved. Agni-III is physically very different from its earlier versions in that it abandoned the long and thin configuration that served the other two missiles – Agni-I and Agni-II – well and has adopted a shorter and thicker body, perhaps envisioning deployment from either submarines or from smaller road-mobile launchers.
With a range of 5,000 km, Agni-III may have held the promise of even a greater range with variations in payloads, with ranges of up to 7,000 km being feasible.
Last week’s failure would, therefore, represent a significant setback in India’s quest for longer-ranged missiles and its efforts to acquire the much-needed deterrent capability.
DRDO’s failure should not be seen as an indication of their lack of ability to design modern age weapons. Failures in missile launches are not entirely uncommon.
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=134249
作者：飞云 在 罕见奇谈 发贴, 来自 http://www.hjclub.org |
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印度經濟快報: 印度發展導彈的目標是中國北京上海
