Global Security Newswire

India intends in two weeks to conduct the initial trial of its experimental Agni 5 ballistic missile, the head of the country's Defense Research and Development Organization said on Saturday (see GSN, Feb. 16).

The missile -- designed to hit targets at distances greater than 3,100 miles  -- includes components nearly as sophisticated as systems used by the United States, the Times of India quoted V.K. Saraswat as saying.

The 50-metric ton, solid-fuel weapon would be ready for entry into India's armed forces in 2014 or 2015, according to the Times of India. The weapon could hit any point in China, the newspaper reported.

Separately, 'the K-15 [submarine-launched ballistic missile] is now getting ready for the final phase of induction after its two recent tests (from submersible pontoons) were successful," Saraswat said (see GSN, Feb. 17, 2010). "We have done over 10 flights of it so far.''

After equipping its submarines with the K-15 missile -- a weapon designed to reach destinations up to 466 miles away -- India intends to deploy its 2,175-mile-range K-4 missile on domestically produced submarines. The INS Arihant  is designed to to transport up to 12 K-15 missiles or four K-4 missiles (see GSN, Dec. 5, 2011).

India plans before 2014 to finish preparing the initial stage of a dual-layered ballistic antimissile framework, followed by the second stage before 2017, Saraswat said (see GSN, Feb. 10).

"We will test the exoatmospheric interceptor at [a 93-mile] altitude this year, which will be followed by an endoatmospheric test at [a 19-mile] altitude," the official added (Rajat Pandit, Times of India, April 2).