Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced that DRDO scientists successfully conducted the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile under “Mission Divyastra”.
DRDO scientists tested Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology. With the test of “Mission Divyastra”, India has joined the select group of nations who have MIRV capability.
Under “Mission Divyastra”, India has developed an indigenous, highly advanced weapons system that alters the country's geopolitical position.
"Proud of our DRDO scientists for Mission Divyastra, the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology," Modi said on X.
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With the latest test, India has officially entered the exclusive league of nations possessing Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) capability..
The cutting-edge system features indigenous avionics systems and high-precision sensor packages, ensuring the re-entry vehicles precisely hit their target points.
What is Agni V?
The Agni V project is aimed at bolstering India's nuclear deterrence against China, which is known to have missiles such as Dongfeng-41 having ranges between 12,000 and 15,000 kilometers.
The Agni-5 MIRV missile is developed by the defence research centre DRDO for over a decade. The missile took its first flight on Monday.
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The new weapon system has Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology, which ensures that a single missile can deploy multiple war heads at different locations.
The system is equipped with indigenous Avionics systems and high accuracy sensor packages, which ensured that the re-entry vehicles reached the target points within the desired accuracy.
The Agni-5 missile is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a range of 5,500 to 5,800 kilometres.
Until the advent of Agni-5, India's longest-range missile was Agni-III, with a capability of reaching up to 3,500 kilometres, insufficient to cover the extreme eastern and northeastern regions of potential adversaries.
India is working towards the strengthening of the nuclear triad, which is a capability of launching nuclear missiles from land, air and sea.
Agni-V can bring almost the entire Asia, including the northernmost part of China, as well as some regions in Europe under its striking range. This missile has the farthest range in the history of India's weapons program. It is also the first missile to be launched at its maximum operational range, which exceeds 5,000 kilometers.
