Defence

Agni-II

The Agni-II is an intermediate range ballistic missile built by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

· It has two stages, both powered by solid propellants.

· It can reach targets 2,500 km away and carry nuclear warheads.

· The missile is 20 metre long and weighs 17 tonnes. It can carry payloads weighing one tonne.

AGNI - III

o It is surface-to-surface ballistic missile which can carry nuclear warheads It is two stage ,powered by solid propellants.

o It is 17-metre long, has a diameter of two metres and launch weight of 50 tonnes & can carry payload of 1.5 tonnes The missile re-enters the atmosphere with a high velocity at a temperature of more than 2,500 degrees Celsius.

o The nuclear warhead is protected by a heat-shield made of carbon-carbon composites.

o Agni-III, , can carry nuclear warheads weighing 1.5 tonnes. It can fly over 3,500 km (the longest range in India’s arsenal ) and even target parts of China.

o The missile was equipped with a sophisticated computer system, navigated with an advanced system and guided by an innovative scheme.

o The ASL (Advance System Laboratry Hyderabad ) designs and develops the Agni variants.

o While the first Agni-III launch on July 9, 2006 failed, the second and third launches on April 12, 2007, and May 7, 2008, witnessed copy-book flights.

o Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have raised the bar: they will now busy themselves with realising Agni-V, which will have a range of 5,000 km.

K-15 missile

· K-15 missile from a submerged pontoon off the coast of Visakhapatnam. The pontoon will simulate the conditions of a submarine. K-15 had been launched earlier from submerged pontoons, but this is a different version. The first version, called Mark-1, is being fitted into the indigenously built nuclear-powered submarine named Arihant.

· (Range) After the K-15 missile clears the water medium, it climbs 20 km into the air and can destroy targets 700 km away.

· The missile forms part of the DRDO’s Sagarika project.

Shourya, which is the land-version of the underwater-launched K-15 missile, will have its second flight around June from the Integrated Test Range at Balasore, Orissa.

Dhanush and Prithvi-II

Dhanush(350 km),

· a naval variant of Prithvi(290 km),

· the 11-metre long Dhanush is a ship-to-surface and ship-to-ship system.

· single-stage, liquid propelled missiles and capable of carrying a 500-kg payload.

Prithvi-II(295 km)

· While the 8.5-metre-tall Prithvi-II is a surface-to-surface missile,

· Single-stage, liquid propelled missiles and capable of carrying a 500-kg payload.

“Cope-09”

· Air warriors from India and the United States will be engaged in a major joint exercise “Cope-09”

· In this excersise for the first time C-17 Globemaster, a heavy lift military transport aircraft is deployed .

· The Indian Air Force plans to procure the transport aircraft to replace the fleet of Russian IL-76 ‘Gajraj,’ inducted in the mid-1980s.

· The exercise will be held in Agra from October 19