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Underwater missile “Sagarika” will be test-fired from a submerged pontoon off the coast of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday, 26 Feb, morning.
Indicating that another test of the country’s most advanced nuclear-capable Agni-III missile is in the offing, top defence scientist M Natarajan on Sunday said the DRDO was close to developing a supersonic fighter trainer.
“Along with undertaking full development of the air force and naval versions of the LCA, DRDO have developed the capability of making in the shortest time of next 10 years a supersonic fighter trainer“. The second test of the Agni-III was in the offing. The first launch of the missile last year was a failure.
A multi-mode radar had been mounted on the LCA for the first time. A breakthrough had been made in installing a phased array radar on the LCA and a beyond visual range air-to-air missile was also in the final stages of development.
“The LCA will give India a platform to develop a medium combat aircraft of 20 tonnes soon,” he said while facing a barrage of questions on the huge time and cost over-runs in the DRDO’s strategic weapons programmes.
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 and it would considerably enhance the country’s nuclear deterrence as sea-launched missiles will form crucial part of the country’s second strike nuclear capability.
“Sagarika”, The missile K-15 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.
DRDO would need just one test to ratify the missile systems and the parameters which would form the main armament of the country’s indigenous nuclear submarine expected to enter sea trials late next year.
DRDO had almost perfected the dry-run trials on the key missile and it would be integrated with the advanced technology vehicle.