Agni-I

Agni-I
Type	Medium Range Ballistic Missile
Place of origin	India
Service history
In service	2004—present
Used by	Indian Army
Production history
Designer	Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
Manufacturer	Bharat Dynamics Limited
Unit cost	₹ 250-350 million (INR) or $ 5.6-7.9 million (USD)
Specifications
Weight	12,000 kg
Length	15 m
Diameter	1.0 m
Warhead	Strategic nuclear (15 kt to 250 kt), conventional HE-unitary, penetration, sub-munitions, incendiary or fuel air explosives
Engine	Single Stage
Operational range	700-1250 km
Flight ceiling	370 km
Flight altitude	~ 200 km
Speed	mach 7.5 or 2.5 km/s (Agni-I)
Guidance system	Ring Laser Gyro- INS (Inertial Navigation System), optionally augmented by GPS terminal guidance with possible radar scene correlation
Accuracy	25 m CEP
Launch platform	8 x 8 Tatra TELAR (Transporter erector launcher) Rail Mobile Launcher

Agni-I (Sanskrit: अग्नि, Agnī "Fire") is a medium-range ballistic missile developed by DRDO of India under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. It is a single-stage missile developed after the Kargil War to fill the gap between 250 km range of Prithvi-II and 2,500 km range of Agni-II. It was first launched on 25 January 2002 from a road mobile launcher at Integrated Test Range (ITR), Wheeler Island.

Agni-I was first tested at the Interim Test Range in Chandipur in 1989, and is capable of carrying a conventional payload of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) or a nuclear warhead. Agni missiles consist of one (short range) or two stages (intermediate range). These are rail and road mobile and powered by solid propellants.

The Agni I has a range of 700–1250 km. They are claimed to be a part of the "Minimum Credible deterrence".

Agni-I is a single stage, solid fuel, road and rail mobile, medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM). The need for the Agni-I was felt after the Kargil war with Pakistan. It took DRDO 15 months to develop the Agni-I after having completed Agni-II development. It is propelled by solid fuel. Maneuvering RV body-lift aerodynamics give it the ability to correct trajectory errors and reduce thermal stresses. The MRV has a velocity correction package to correct launch trajectory variances. Some Agni RV versions use a set of solid fueled thruster cartridges of predetermined impulse, allowing the onboard guidance controller to trim velocity, using discrete combination of impulse quanta along the desired spatial orientation. The 15 metre tall Agni-1 missile, weighing about 12 tonnes, is capable of carrying both conventional as well as nuclear warheads of 1,000 kg. Calculations suggest a distance of 1500 km can, theoretically, be reached if the missile were to be made of composites & carrying a lesser mass of payload.