Agni-P Missile

Context:

India has become the latest country to conduct rail-based missile launching, only after Russia, USA, China and possibly North Korea.

UPSC Relevance:

Important defense related developments of India.

PYQ:

Q. Consider the following statements
1. Ballistic missiles are jet-propelled at subsonic speeds throughout their fights, while cruise missiles are rocket-powered only in the initial phase of fight. 
2. Agni-V is a medium-range supersonic cruise missile, while BrahMos is a solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 

[A] 1 only

[B] 2 only

[C] Both 1 and 2

[D] Neither 1 nor 2

About Agni-P missile:

• Agni Prime is a nuclear-capable new-generation advanced variant of the Agni class of missiles. It is a two-stage solid- fuel canister missile with a maximum range of 1,000 to 2,000 km.
• It is lighter than all the earlier Agni series of missiles.
• It is equipped with the Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology.

Advantage of rail-based launchers:

• India’s roughly 70,000 km railway grid can carry missiles to all corners of the country, without the need for additional preparation like fixing potholes or widening road bottlenecks.
• The Presence of thousands of tunnels in India’s railway network can be used by rail-based launchers to hide from enemy satellite surveillance.
• Rail-based platforms are significantly cheaper to construct and maintain as compared to submarine launched ballistic missiles.

Agni-P, which combines Agni-I’s range with propulsion and navigation technologies borrowed from the Agni-IV and Agni-V missiles.