Tessy Thomas (born April 1963) is an Indian aerospace engineer who spent more than three decades at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). She was project director for the Agni-IV and Agni-V ballistic missiles, the first woman to lead a missile project in India, which earned her the popular titles “Missile Woman of India” and “Agniputri”. She rose to be Director General of Aeronautical Systems before retiring in 2023.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Tessy Thomas |
| Born | April 1963, Alappuzha, Kerala, India |
| Field | Aerospace engineering, missile guidance |
| Organisation | DRDO (1988–2023) |
| Education | Government Engineering College, Thrissur (B.Tech.); Institute of Armament Technology, Pune (M.E. Guided Missiles); MBA; Ph.D. |
| Spouse | Saroj Kumar Patel |
| Children | 1 (Tejas) |
| Known for | Agni-IV, Agni-V |
Early Life
Tessy was born into a Syrian Christian family in Alappuzha and named after Mother Teresa. She grew up near the Thumba rocket launching station, and watching rockets rise over the coast gave her an early fascination with them. Her father was paralysed by a stroke when she was thirteen, and her mother, a trained teacher, held the family together. She studied electrical engineering in Thrissur on a bank loan and took a master’s degree in guided missile technology in Pune.
Career
She joined DRDO in 1988 and was assigned to the Agni programme at Hyderabad by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, who then headed India’s missile development. Her speciality was guidance: the software and solid-propellant systems that steer a long-range missile and bring its warhead safely back through the atmosphere. She was associate project director of the 3,000-kilometre Agni-III.
She was project director of Agni-IV, successfully tested in November 2011, and of Agni-V, India’s first missile with a range of more than 5,000 kilometres, first tested on 19 April 2012. A failed Agni-III launch in 2006 had drawn heavy criticism; her team found the faults and fixed them.
She became director of the Advanced Systems Laboratory in Hyderabad in 2014 and Director General, Aeronautical Systems, in Bengaluru in 2018, overseeing work on aircraft, drones and airborne systems. After retiring she became vice-chancellor of a private university in Tamil Nadu.
Personal Life
She is married to Saroj Kumar Patel, a retired commodore of the Indian Navy, whom she met in Pune. Their son, Tejas, shares his name with India’s light combat aircraft.
Awards and Honours
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Tessy Thomas born?
Tessy Thomas was born in April 1963, Alappuzha, Kerala, India.
What is Tessy Thomas known for?
Known for: Agni-IV, Agni-V.
Featured image: Tessy Thomas (right), project director of Agni-IV, receives a DRDO award from Defence Minister A. K. Antony, New Delhi, October 2012. Photo by Ministry of Defence, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
