Currently, only five countries in the world have intercontinental ballistic missiles. These are Russia, Great Britain, China, USA and France. Several more countries intend to join this "club", but so far only India, which is creating the Agni family of ballistic missiles, has a chance of this.
Named after the Hindu god of fire, this family now includes four missiles that can be identified by their index numbers. All Agni missiles have different ranges and, as a result, different targets. So, "Agni-1" is a short-range missile and can fly only 500-700 kilometers. "Agni-2" and "Agni-3" belong to the class of medium-range ballistic missiles, and "Angi-5" has come close to the cherished barrier separating the long and intercontinental range. In the same way, missiles differ in size, launch mass, warhead weight, etc.
The latest news on Agni missiles comes from a training launch on 8 August. An Agni-2 rocket was launched from the test site on Wheeler Island (Bay of Bengal). She reportedly successfully achieved her conditional target and hit it. The launch range exceeded the calculated two thousand kilometers. According to available data, the maximum distance that this rocket can fly is two and a half thousand kilometers. The Agni 2 ballistic missile entered service in 2002 and is the primary medium-range missile in the Indian military. When creating "Agni-2", the experience gained during the development of the short-range missile "Agni-1" was taken into account. Moreover, the first stage of the rocket with a two in the name is almost completely identical to the Agni-1. Both of these missiles have a special feature: they are transported and launched from launchers on an automobile chassis. In addition, for "Agni-2" a set of means was developed that allows transporting and using a rocket from appropriately modified railway platforms. Due to their mobility and range, the Agni-2 missiles can hit targets in an area of slightly less than a third of Asia.
The next rocket of the family - "Agni-3" - was put into service last 2011. It also belongs to the class of medium-range ballistic missiles, but has a longer range than Agni-2. A payload weighing one ton can be delivered over a distance of 3,500 kilometers. The maximum weight of the warhead reaches 1800 kg. This carrying capacity allows the Agni-3 to be equipped with both conventional and nuclear warheads. The maximum power of the warhead is estimated at 250-300 kilotons. The launch weight of this rocket, reaching almost 50 tons, did not allow making a launcher on an automobile chassis. For this reason, "Agni-3" is launched only from the railway or from the mine complex. Thus, the third rocket of the family maintains the mobility of its predecessors, while simultaneously improving the range and throw weight. With a launch range of 3,500 kilometers, for example, large administrative centers of China, including Beijing, may be under attack from the territory of India. As for the longtime enemy of India - Pakistan - Agni-2 and Agni-3 overlap its territory with interest. To reliably defeat Pakistani targets, Indian missilemen may not even approach the border.
The logical continuation of a series of Indian ballistic missiles (at least in terms of the name) was supposed to be "Agni-4". However, there is no verified data on the existence of such a rocket. Instead, it immediately became known about the Agni-5 rocket, which has a much longer range. Even before the end of the Agni-3 tests and its adoption, the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) announced its readiness to begin flight tests of the new missile. They were originally planned for the spring of 2011, but later they were postponed several times. Ultimately, the date of the first launch was set to April 18, 2012, but there were some problems. On that day, the weather was bad at the training ground, which is why the Agni-5 flew only on the 19th.
It is worth recognizing that the constant postponements of the date still gave their result - all technical problems were eliminated and the rocket successfully delivered a training warhead to the target area. The fifty-ton three-stage rocket covered a distance of over five thousand kilometers. At the same time, DRDO officials claim that the maximum range of the Agni-5 missile is 5500 kilometers. The boundary of five and a half thousand kilometers is the very boundary upon reaching which a ballistic missile becomes intercontinental. The successful first launch of the new missile allowed Indian engineers and the military to show off their plans. So, in 2014-15, the new rocket will be put into service and will go into production. In addition, in the near future, Indian designers will develop a multiple warhead with individual guidance units. Such a payload will significantly increase the combat potential of each missile individually and of the entire armed forces as a whole.
Soon after the announcement of the first flight of the Agni-5 rocket, rumors began to circulate about a new project by Indian rocket scientists. The mythical program "Agni-6" implies the creation of a ballistic missile with a range of about 10 thousand kilometers and a multiple warhead. However, there is still no official data regarding this project, in addition to the fact that work on a new ballistic missile is still underway. It may well turn out that "Agni-6" will have a short range and will replace the very first missile of the family.
Regardless of the characteristics of a promising rocket, appropriate conclusions can already be drawn. In recent years, India has become the largest importer of arms and military equipment. This speaks to the attention paid to their military forces. Simultaneously with purchases, New Delhi is conducting several joint projects with foreign countries (including Russia), and is also engaged in the independent development of a number of especially important systems. These include ballistic missiles, anti-missile systems, and nuclear weapons. Everything indicates that India intends to become the leader of its region in the military-political aspect. Of course, in this she will have to compete with China. In the course of this "competition", according to available information, from 2020, India will begin the final stage of building its nuclear forces. The "triad" will include several regiments with long-range and intercontinental-range ballistic missiles, 4-5 submarines armed with strategic missiles, as well as fighter-bombers with the ability to carry conventional and nuclear weapons.
By the time the Indian nuclear triad takes its final form, it is possible that the mythical Agni-6 missile with a range of at least 10 thousand kilometers will be put into service. Such a delivery vehicle is capable of significantly changing the balance of forces in the Asian region and placing India among the leading military states, of course, subject to the full and comprehensive development of the armed forces. It is quite possible and even expected that some countries in the region, primarily Pakistan, will openly express their discontent. However, the world's leading countries are unlikely to start accusing India of bad intentions, as they do with Iran and North Korea. Perhaps not everyone knows yet about the plans of the Indian leadership, or simply do not have the necessary amount of information to draw conclusions and official statements. Or maybe India does not come across as an unpredictable "unreliable regime." One way or another, no one is stopping the Indians from pursuing their own projects and building ballistic missiles of various ranges, as well as strengthening their armed forces.
