Agni-5: Did India Test Hypersonic Missile As Exhaust Trail Indicates Hypersonic Glide Vehicle Firing? - EurAsian Times

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The latest Agni-5 rocket trial piqued defence observers’ curiosity, based connected videos of its exhaust way successful the nighttime entity implicit eastbound and northeastern India and adjacent Myanmar & Bangladesh.

The trajectory has been noted to beryllium unusually little wrong the earth’s ambiance and not the pronounced precocious parabolic arch of ballistic missiles that concisely enters abstraction earlier it reenters earth.

The trial was carried retired connected Thursday and was referred to arsenic “night trials” successful quality reports. It was fired astatine 5:30 p.m. from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island disconnected the Odisha seashore successful the Bay of Bengal.

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Agni-5 is India’s longest-range ballistic rocket with a scope of 5,000 km and uses a three-stage coagulated substance engine. Agni-5 tin beryllium stored and launched from canisters making it roadworthy mobile.

Unusual ‘Arc’ & ‘Altitude’

According to Indian Aerospace Defence News (IADN), the firing is apt to person tested a hypersonic glide conveyance (HGV) based connected its “quasi-ballistic relation (and) debased velocity alternatively than a modular ballistic launch.”

In a Twitter thread, IADN posted pictures of China’s 2018 DF-ZF HGV motorboat successful its Shaanxi state and interior Mongolia and compared it to the Agni-5, saying it showed the “same motorboat characteristics.”

The pictures came from the caller #Agni5 rocket trial doesn't look to beryllium a modular ballistic rocket test.

The debased velocity of the rocket indicates its quasi-ballistic relation which is usually depicted by a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle alternatively modular atomic rocket launch.#IADN pic.twitter.com/xQwEuImSOG

— Indian Aerospace Defence News (IADN) (@NewsIADN) December 15, 2022

“The pictures came from the caller Agni-5 rocket trial doesn’t look to beryllium a modular ballistic rocket test. The debased velocity of the rocket indicates its quasi-ballistic role, which is usually depicted by a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle alternatively than modular atomic rocket launch,” IADB said.

The thread posted videos taken by locals showing what appears to beryllium the rocket taking steep curves and changing directions, which again is not communal successful regular ballistic rocket tests.

The chances of it being a hypersonic trial besides cannot beryllium ruled retired since the DRDO successfully tested a hypersonic air-breathing scramjet exertion with the formation of the Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV) connected September 7, 2020.

The DRDO has been moving connected hypersonic missiles since 2018.

Another remark by defence enthusiasts connected societal media pages speculated that the trial perchance aimed astatine assessing the show of micro-electronics and Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) systems. “But wherefore they utilized a depressed trajectory is inactive not clear,” the commentator said.

MIRVs are propelled and perchance steerable munitions connected the extremity of a atomic missile, which are released successful its terminal phase. They instrumentality retired from the chemoreceptor cone, with immoderate being decoys, confusing anti-ballistic rocket (ABM) systems arsenic to the existent warheads carrying the atomic explosive.

However, the subject whitethorn besides marque each their MIRVs nuclear-tipped to summation the chances of a palmy onslaught if it anticipates force aerial defenses to beryllium susceptible of intercepting each MIRVs.

DRDO Expert Speaks

However, erstwhile Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) idiosyncratic Dr. Prahlada said it doesn’t look similar a hypersonic glide conveyance (HGV) test, with the lone quality being the timing of the trial being precocious evening oregon nighttime hours.

“Moreover, the curvature of the world and its presumption successful abstraction makes objects going farther distant oregon higher look arsenic they are heading down.

This is each the much amplified successful videos, and it would beryllium hard to reason whether it was an HGV trial oregon immoderate different intent until the motorboat video is available,” Prahlada said.

When filing this report, the DRDO was yet to remark connected investigating oregon merchandise the motorboat footage.

There were claims that DRDO utilized debased velocity and a depressed trajectory to fell its existent scope and existent potential. “If they had utilized existent potential, speed, and optimal trajectory, the rocket would person gone further. This means the existent scope is acold greater than 5000 km. DRDO fired on the lowest enactment connected the graph to execute the people region of 5000 km,” an perceiver noted.

By “lowest enactment connected the graph,” the remark referred to the 3 antithetic trajectories of ballistic missiles, each of which travel a parabolic way and permission the ambiance earlier reentering it to descend connected its target.

Plotted connected a graph, they go 3 ample parabolas with antithetic heights and arches, with the lowest 1 astir hugging and moving parallel to the earth’s curvature, perchance inactive wrong the ambiance – oregon ‘endo-atmospheric’ successful military-technical terms.