Missile with 5,000-km range in two years: DRDO

By OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi, May 12: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday felicitated and conferred awards on DRDO scientists for achievements that included firing of the Sagarika (K-15) nuclear-capable under-sea ballistic missile in February this year and the Agni-III nuclear-capable intermediate ballistic surface-to-surface missile last week. The DRDO award for excellence in performance was granted to A.K. Chakrabarti and his team of scientists for "designing a state-of-the-art missile system with capability of being launched from a sub-surface environment".

This, according to DRDO and MoD sources is the Sagarika (K-15) missile. It was further stated that India has become the fifth country in the world to develop this capability and that the performance of the (K-15) missile system is "far higher than the requirement given by the user".

It also stated that the missile system has already been accepted by the user and is under production for induction into the services.

The missile — the K-15 with a range of 700 km — was test-fired in the seas off Visakhapatnam from a pontoon immersed in the sea in February this year. The under-water ballistic missile would be later integrated with the advanced technology vehicle, the name by which the indigenous nuclear submarine being developed is referred to. The DRDO is now planning to launch a new version of the Agni missile with a 5,000-km range within two years, Mr Avinash Chander, project director, Agni III said.

The launching of the 5,000-km range missile would entail strapping third stage booster rocket on Agni-III missiles powered by solid fuel propellant, officials said. "The year 2007 has been the year of success of our strategic systems," DRDO secretary M. Natarjan said.