Agni & Prithvi Ballistic Missiles : News & Discussions

Assuming these are all accurately to scale (it seems they are), it's incredible how small the A-1P is.

A testament to the continuous improvements in both composite casings as well as solid fuel mix/burn efficiency compared to previous Agnis.
1:1 models we will see soon in Hyderabad campus . That one would always look small, new BM was also very compact and small in size,

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Why is Agni-V being classified as an “IRBM” all of sudden? Any new payload being tested which reduces the range of the missile? Also, the notam is alive till tomorrow - anything more to be tested in the window?
According to Google.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) typically have a range exceeding 5,500 kilometers (3,400 miles). This range allows them to deliver nuclear warheads across continents. ICBMs are designed for long-range strategic attacks, and their range can extend up to 16,000 km, according to ScienceDirect.com.


According to gov. Policy/direction agni 5 usable or publicly disclosed range is restricted to 5000km.
 
According to Google.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) typically have a range exceeding 5,500 kilometers (3,400 miles). This range allows them to deliver nuclear warheads across continents. ICBMs are designed for long-range strategic attacks, and their range can extend up to 16,000 km, according to ScienceDirect.com.


According to gov. Policy/direction agni 5 usable or publicly disclosed range is restricted to 5000km.

Well, hmm. I believe we have termed this as ICBM before! Let me see if I can find those communications.

 
Agni-5 test history.

1. Apr 19, 2012: Maiden test from Wheeler Island.

2. Sep 15, 2013: Second test.

3. Jan 31, 2015: First canister launch.

4. Dec 26, 2016: Fourth experimental test.

5. Jan 18, 2018: Canister launch.

6. Jun 3, 2018: User trial.

7. Dec 10, 2018: User trial.

8. Oct 27, 2021: Night user trial.

9. Dec 15, 2022: Night trial.

10. Mar 11, 2024: Divyastra (MIRV).

11. Aug 20, 2025: Latest user trial from Chandipur.
 
Its not exactly any turn i think , rather it went in a regular ballistic trajectory there. The angular motion is due to the 2nd stage ignition showing the plume slightly upwards as the missile has reached near its apogee likely. Given people are seeing from the ground, it would seem like a turn but in reality it is right on track. A very textbook precise launch mission well executed.
 
Since the prithvis have gone back to the nuke role again after retiring from service (I guess conventional ones are done and only nooks variant deployment, per Dr Sundaram) and the PAD/PDV which will be part of bmd network. That is quite some role turnaround. Always had the preference for a good amount of tactical nook warheads being ready all the time else you can not counter the rabid nature of pak, they will always fire a large salvo at the first sign of distress + due to land coverage (max 600km of theirs vs ~ 2900km of our) their nukes are largely random hit anywhere centric just aim and fire off. So as counter-strike option you need good amount of tactical nuke available at short notice. Then the heavy hitting Agnis can do the job in a few hours. Yield of A1 is much higher compared to what prithvi would deliver in limited role.

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bonus speech

 
Since the prithvis have gone back to the nuke role again after retiring from service (I guess conventional ones are done and only nooks variant deployment, per Dr Sundaram) and the PAD/PDV which will be part of bmd network. That is quite some role turnaround. Always had the preference for a good amount of tactical nook warheads being ready all the time else you can not counter the rabid nature of pak, they will always fire a large salvo at the first sign of distress + due to land coverage (max 600km of theirs vs ~ 2900km of our) their nukes are largely random hit anywhere centric just aim and fire off. So as counter-strike option you need good amount of tactical nuke available at short notice. Then the heavy hitting Agnis can do the job in a few hours. Yield of A1 is much higher compared to what prithvi would deliver in limited role.

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bonus speech

"If India puts its mind to it, it will do it." Yup. I've seen cynical people here itself, but let me tell you, even for jet engines we can clinch it. It needs focus and 100% support.

Sundaram, Kalam, Saraswat, Agarwal, Ramanna Bhabha and countless others gave us the bomb and the missile, now the current generation must give India the jet engine and semiconductor capability.
 
Video quality is bad but a good capture of the August 20 test, it shows the 2 different stage burns


By bench-marking with other better quality videos from above and the very recent Trident 2/3 launch just a few days ago, some observation can be done. There is no more quality gap between the existing western systems & Indian one like before.

2nd stage ignition & later the visible plume trail show likely use of composite solid propellant rich with Al as high energetic particle infusion hence the clear bright white burn. The same can be seen in the experimental test of 2022 & the full composite body K4 launch video, bright white flame due to high content of aluminum particle in the HTPB+AP+Al composition, almost 20%. We have already developed the HTPB-AP-AL composite propellant & the Nitrate ester NEPE based composite propellant , its casting, production & insulation bond compatible material that work with both
these propellant as the patents suggest. Currently the ageing test storage life determination work is ongoing for this new gen CP.

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Since for land launched version not much weight constraint is there compared to SLBM version , the higher specific impulse based propellant is used in the upper stages for the land based system while the SLBM version can use the CRMC (composite motor casing) compatible solid composite propellant in both stages to reduce dimension. This is why the MIRV version look so compact & yet deliver much higher payload to a larger distance which is mandatory for the purpose, more than double the throw weight of the original A5 1.5 ton payload capacity. Considering the defence sat launcher also use the same MIRV bus of A5 for satellite launch mission it needs to have significant load pulling capacity.

Now up to the powers that be to develop very long range systems & declare it so. CAS got rocket motor test facility of 400ton thrust , the huge rocket ISRO makes one of the engines produce 240tons of thrust. So maybe in future after 2.5m dia motor is proven they can go on with a higher dia more powerful crmc that could generate 80-100kn level of thrust , suitable for FOBS like mission.