Agni-V ICBM
 

Hello All,

India's Agni-V road-mobile, three-stage solid propellant ICBM would make a very simple, yet colorful, scale model subject due to its simple lines, and the fact that its first stage nozzle doesn't protrude from the lower end of the first stage. An Agni-V flying scale model could be finless just like the real thing, by utilizing M. Dean Black's air-ducted finless model rocket stabilization technique (see: http://www.apogeerockets.com/educat...wsletter379.pdf ). Below are links to articles, images, and videos on/of the Agni-V:

Agni-V articles: www.google.com/#q=Agni-5

Agni-V images: http://www.google.com/search?q=agni...WdnBv4Q_AUIBygC

Agni-V videos: www.google.com/#q=agni-5&tbm=vid

I hope this material will be helpful.

It makes me think of a Pershing II with the fins knocked off. Obviously a much more potent missile, though.

The article on finless stabilization is interesting ... however, I'd just prefer that all countries revert to putting fins back on their rockets! Look at the Saturn 1B. We just had it so right back then. The Saturn V was amazing, certainly, but the 1B with 8 fins, and those alternating tanks in black and white -- heavenly!

And the paint pattern at the aft end and on the fins, well, he was just messing with future modelers.

Absolutely! :cool:



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Actually I think the Agni II is a much more visually interesting model. Modern ICBM's tend to just be a giant toilet paper roll with a rolled paper cone on top (modeling-wise). Where's the fun in that, even going finless as blackshire suggests??

The Agni II though looks more like what an ICBM (IRBM) SHOULD look like... IMHO it looks like someone took the top off a Pershing II and put it on top of a Scout... Agni I is shorter and without the upper (stage?) fins, which they added for Agni II... (not sure it's a propulsion stage-- India has been working on MARV's (Maneuvering Reentry Vehicles) capable of defeating ABM defenses, so it may be a "terminal vehicle" with fins to maneuver during the final descent to the target to avoid defenses.

Later! OL J R :)

I thank you all for your replies! Also:

The Agni-II's (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agni-II and www.google.com/#q=Agni-II ) finned upper portion is indeed a MARV (MAneuverable Re-entry Vehicle), and its resemblance to the LTV Scout is no coincidence. India's first satellite launch vehicle, the SLV-3 (see: http://www.b14643.de/Spacerockets_1/India/India.htm and www.google.com/#q=India+SLV-3+launch+vehicle ), was patterned after the LTV Scout. I'm 99% certain that the boosters of their Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, the PSLV-G and PSLV-XL (with "stretched" boosters--the PSLV CA ["Core Alone"] flies without any boosters), are SLV-3 first stage motors--I'll have to check their diameters to make sure. In addition:

Concerning the "finned versus finless" matter, I like rockets of ^both^ types. The Vanguard, Polaris, Poseidon, Agni-V, PSLV, Minuteman, Jupiter, Titan II, and Peacekeeper would look strange *with* fins...and the LTV Scout, Blue Scout, Agni-II, SLV-3, Pershing IA, Saturn V, and especially the Saturn IB would look utterly incomplete *without* fins. (The Thor IRBM and many Thor-based launch vehicles "straddled that divide," as some had fins and some didn't.)

I definitely agree with the finned/finless comments. One rocket that has always intrigued me is the Pershing II. Funky combination of little square fins and little triangular fins. Hard to believe Estes ever introduced that without grossly oversized fins. I never had one but always marveled that it flew fine. Or did it fly fine?

I recall reading that John Boren stated that Estes has no plans to reintroduce the model, but I don't recall if he gave specifics.

I have the Alien Enterprises resin parts set for building one using the BT-101. I might build a display model, but I'm not sure I'd fly one unless I heard about someone else having success flying one.

You're talking about Pershing I... Pershing II was different...

Personally I like the lines of the Pershing II much better... just looks "cooler" to me but I realize that's subjective. It is also easier to construct as a stable model rocket...

Later! OL J R :)

It's a shame that all of them--except for a few saved as museum exhibits--were destroyed under the terms of the INF Treaty, as both would have made great guided sounding rockets (as the Aries was). Using the MARV as a payload housing (perhaps utilizing GPS for guidance, rather than the "stock" rotating radar antenna inside the nose radome, to make arms control negotiators happy), the Pershing II could have offered precision payload recovery regardless of weather conditions, which would have made it very useful at ranges (such as Esrange) that have small impact areas.

Dang, senior moment. I took pics of the II at NASM a few years back. It's cool, and definitely would be easier to build stable, but something about the funky 1A just has always appealed to me. I also love the contrast of the black/white striped nose over the olive drab body.