The Hindu : National : ‘Sagarika’ test-firing today

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‘Sagarika’ test-firing today

T. S. Subramanian

CHENNAI: Underwater missile “Sagarika” will be test-fired from a submerged pontoon off the coast of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday morning.

The pontoon will simulate the conditions of a submarine. The test-firing is a forerunner to the launch of the missile from a submarine in a few years from now, and later from the indigenously-built nuclear-powered submarine, which is under development.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been developing the missile for about 14 years.

In select league

If the test-firing is successful, it will place India in the select league of Russia, the U.S., France, the U.K. and China, which have missiles that could be launched from submarines.

“Sagarika,” which has a range in excess of 700 km, is about 6.5 metres long and weighs about seven tonnes.

Powered by solid propellants, it has a booster that will propel it into the air from underwater. Another booster will ignite it in the air and carry it over a distance of more than 700 km.

The missile, which can carry a payload of 500 to 600 kg, is designed to carry both conventional and nuclear warheads.

A successful test-firing of ‘Sagarika’ will complete the triad of the country’s minimum, credible nuclear deterrence from land, air and sea.

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