Agni-II ( IAST:

Agni Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...

, ), is the second strategic ballistic missile of

Agni (missile) The Agni missile (अग्नि IAST: Agni ''"Fire"'') is a family of medium to intercontinental range ballistic missiles developed by India, named after one of the five elements of nature. Agni missiles are long range, nuclear weapons capab ...

family envisaged to be the mainstay of the Indian missile-based strategic nuclear deterrence. The Agni-II is a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) with two solid fuel stages and a Post Boost Vehicle (PBV) integrated into the missile's Re-entry Vehicle (RV). The Agni's manoeuvring RV is made of a carbon-

carbon composite Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

material that is light and able to sustain high

thermal stress In mechanics and thermodynamics, thermal stress is mechanical stress created by any change in temperature of a material. These stresses can lead to fracturing or plastic deformation depending on the other variables of heating, which include mat ...

es of re-entry, in a variety of trajectories. The Agni-IIA is a more advanced version of Agni-II, albeit with more sophisticated and lighter materials, yielding a better range and operating regime. Agni-IIA was later renamed as

Agni-IV Agni-IV ("Fire") is the fourth in the Agni series of missiles which was earlier known as ''Agni II prime''. It has been developed by India's DRDO and displayed a number of new technologies and significant improvement in missile technology. T ...

plugging the gap between Agni-II and

Agni-III The Agni-III (IAST: Agni, ) is an Indian intermediate-range ballistic missile inducted into service in 2011 as the successor of the Agni-II. It has a range of and can reach targets deep inside neighbouring countries including China. Introduct ...

. While the first test of Agni-IV in December 2010 was a failure, the second test flight in November 2011 was a success Agni-II, developed as part of medium- and long-range Agni series of missile systems, has already been inducted into the Armed Forces. Agni missile range

On 17 May 2010, the trial was conducted with a special strategic command force (SSC) of nuclear-capable Agni-II ballistic missile, with a range of 2,000 kilometres from the Wheelers Island off Orissa coast thus making Agni-II missile operational by army.

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sig ...

National Air and Space Intelligence Center The National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) is the United States Air Force unit for analyzing military intelligence on foreign air and space forces, weapons, and systems. NASIC assessments of aerospace performance characteristics, ca ...

estimating that as of June 2017 less than 10 launchers were operationally deployed, operated by the 335 Missile Group at Secunderabad using 12 TEL vehicles. Agni-II can reach all of Pakistan and most parts of south and southeastern China.

References

{{Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Ballistic missiles of India Medium-range ballistic missiles Military equipment introduced in the 2000s

See also

References