hi,

Source:UPI


India has served notice that it intends to make its global nuclear ballistic missile reach worldwide.

The Deccan Herald has reported that India's Ministry of Defense, flushed with the success of its Agni medium range ballistic missile (MRBM), is pressing for the creation of a fully-fledged intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 5,400 to 7,200 miles.

The ICBM would probably be a three-stage ballistic missile with solid fuel rockets in the first and second stages, and a liquid propellant rocket in the third stage. The launch weight of the missile may reach 270-275 tonnes and it is planned to have an impact error of only around 1.2 miles to 1.7 miles, MoD officials in New Delhi told the newspaper.

The missile may have a 5,480-7,680 pound releasable front section with two to three warheads of 15-20 kilotons each, the officials said.

There are plans to use the second-stage propellant engine of the Vikas booster rocket during the development of the new missile to increase its flight range. The ICBM is likely to be test-fired by 2008 and is expected to be added to the Indian armed forces' deterrence arsenal by 2015, the Deccan Herald said.

The Indian armed forces currently possess 12 ground-based Prithvi medium-range missile launchers with conventional warheads and a flight range of 90 to 150 miles with installation capabilities of single warheads with a yield of 10-15 kilotons.

The same launchers could be used for the launch of ICBMs, the Deccan Herald said. These launchers are part of the 333rd Missile Regiment, based near the southern city of Hyderabad.

The ICBMs developed by other countries use a ballistic trajectory involving a significant ascent and descent, including sub-orbital flight.

Developing ICBMs would confirm India's status as a global power and put it in a select club including Russia, the United States, France, Britain and China, although North Korea and Iran are pushing ahead with ICBM programs too.

While Agni is a two-stage solid fuel ballistic missile capable of delivering a 10-15 kiloton nuclear warhead up to 2,500 km, the ICBM will be a three-stage solid and liquid ballistic missile, the Deccan Herald said.

The Defense Ministry officials also pointed out that there would be no monetary constraint for the project since many of the systems for the ICBM are similar to the current Agni missile that has already shown success and are being developed.

India can probably count on whole-hearted U.S. cooperation in developing its new ICBM. The engineering challenges appear to be modest and well within India's current capabilities, U.S. experts in the field told UPI. But India's electronic and missile targeting technology remains far behind China's, and behind the targeting packages China is believed by Indian intelligence analysts to have supplied to Pakistan.

The new ICBM will give India the deterrent capability to hit targets anywhere in China, including the capital Beijing. The current intermediate range Agni can only reach targets in southern China

Peace
-=SF_13=-

from development to operational, a missile needs at least 10 years to undergo numberous tests and feed backs.

Hi,

Originally Posted by WARmachine88

from development to operational, a missile needs at least 10 years to undergo numberous tests and feed backs.

"The ICBM is likely to be test-fired by 2008 and is expected to be added to the Indian armed forces' deterrence arsenal by 2015 "

Yes 2015 is the expected date .......... these Things take time ........ India Already has the Rockets Like PSLV , GSLV that can be converted into ICBM but there many other things like Navigation to take care of ........IMO the Surya will be a PSLV or ASLV with a re-entry system .




Indian ICBM Program is not New , ..... Surya ICBM Program is a very old one the project Goes back to the 60's ........

SURYA - 1 & 2 : INDIA's ICBM's


Surya-1/2


Country: India
Class: ICBM
Basing: Surface based
Length: 40.00 m
Launch Weight: 80 kg
Propulsion: First/second stage solid, third liquid
Range: 8,000, 12,000 km
Status: Development
In Service: Exp. 2008


Details

The Surya is an intercontinental-range, surface-based, solid- and liquid-propellant ballistic missile. Currently in development, the missile is based on the civil space launch technologies of the PSLV/GSLV programs. Once completed, it will be India’s first ICBM.

A strategic weapon, the Surya will extend India’s nuclear deterrent to targets deep within China. At present, Indian missiles can only hit a limited number of Chinese targets, even after the completion of the Agni-3. However, the development of a true ICBM such as the Surya will make almost any strategic target within China vulnerable, and decrease India’s relative weakness. In this manner, the Surya will provide India with a strong deterrent against future Chinese aggression.

At present, India is developing two variants, the Surya-1 and the Surya-2. The Surya-1 is reported to be 40 m long and weigh 80,000 kg. It is expected to have a range of 8,000 km (4,971 miles). The missile is believed to use a three-stage design, with one liquid-propellant and two solid-propellant stages. As the Surya-1 has yet to be developed, its payload and warhead are currently unknown. The Surya-2 will have a longer range of 12,000 km (7,456 miles), which will most likely be accomplished by decreasing its payload.

The first test flight of the Surya-1 is expected in 2005 and the missile is expected to enter service in 2008

Oviously the First test hasen't happned as yet ..... and was supposed to be this year but the government is making Indications that it's coming soon ...

Vikas engine : ISRO tested (November 30, 2001) an up-rated version of the liquid propellant Vikas engine at ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Test Facilities at Mahendragiri in Tamilnadu. The Vikas engines are employed in the second stage of India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) as well as the second and the four strap-on stages of Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). Source ISRO

Peace
-=SF-13=-

interesting,

wish every test goes smoothly and the operational date will be much earlier.