Previous Year Question
With reference to the Agni-IV Missile, which of the following statements is/are correct?
It is a surface-to-surface missile.
It is fuelled by liquid propellant only.
It can deliver a one-tonne nuclear warhead about 7,500 km away.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Only 1
2 and 3
1 and 3
1, 2 and 3
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
Statement 1 is correct. Agni-IV is an Indian-developed surface-to-surface, intermediate-range ballistic missile. It is designed to be launched from a land-based mobile launcher against a strategic target located on land.
Agni-IV was earlier known as Agni-II Prime. It is an approximately 20-metre-long, two-stage missile with a launch weight of nearly 17 tonnes. It was developed as a strategic missile capable of carrying a conventional or nuclear payload.
Statement 2 is incorrect. Agni-IV does not use liquid propellant; it employs solid propellant in both stages. Compared with a liquid-fuel missile, a solid-fuel missile can generally be launched with a shorter preparation time and possesses better storage and mobility characteristics.
Agni-IV incorporates technologies such as composite rocket motors, a Ring Laser Gyro-based Inertial Navigation System, a Micro Navigation System and a digital control system. These systems guide and control the missile along its designated trajectory towards the target.
Statement 3 is incorrect. Agni-IV has a range of approximately 4,000 km, not 7,500 km. It can carry an approximately one-tonne payload, but the statement’s claim that it can deliver the payload to a distance of 7,500 km is incorrect.
The missile’s re-entry vehicle is protected by a heat shield to withstand the extremely high temperature generated during atmospheric re-entry. The first successful test of Agni-IV was conducted from the coast of Odisha on 15 November 2011.