Agni-V puts India into elite intercontinental missile club

With the successful test-firing of indigenously-developed and manufactured nuclear-capable Agni-V missile with a range of more than 5,000 km on Thursday, Indian armed forces now have the capability of covering nearly all of China and parts of Europe. This intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is likely to be inducted into service by the end of this year. India has now joined the elite club of nations having ICBMs. The other countries include the US, the UK, China, Russia and France.

The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) responsible for nuclear arsenal of the country will induct Agni-V surface to surface missile as no more user trials are needed after the latest test. The Indian scientists have also developed the capability of further increasing the range of this missile, officials said here on Thursday. A missile is categorised as ICBM if it able to hit a target beyond 5,000 to 5,500 km and Agni-V falls in this bracket, they added.

Giving details of the launch from Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast at 9:53 am, officials said the trial is “fully successful.” The missile fired from a canister travelled for 19 minutes and covered 4,900 km before neutralising the target. The three-stage missile, which is 17-metre tall and two-metre wide, has the capacity of carrying conventional warhead and nuclear arsenal weighing nearly 1.7 tonnes. The missile is propelled by solid fuel thereby making it easier to transport it anywhere.

Explaining the significance of canister launch of Agni-V, they said it gives the commanders the capacity to move the missile in quick time by road if need be and fire it from anywhere. In fact, it can be fired from road or a railway coach, they added. In all, Agni-V was tested five times over the past few years. These include three consecutive trials from a canister on a road mobile launcher. The first test was conducted on April 19, 2012, the second on September 15, 2013, third test on January 31, 2015 and the fourth trial on December 26, 2017.

The flight performance of the missile in the latest trial was tracked and monitored by radars, range stations and tracking systems all through the mission. All objectives of the mission have been successfully met, the Defence Ministry announced. Also, this successful test of Agni-V reaffirms the country’s indigenous missile capabilities and further strengthens our credible deterrence, it said.

The redundant Navigation systems, very high accuracy Ring Laser Gyro-based Inertial Navigation System (RINS) and the most modern and accurate Micro Navigation System (MINS) ensured the missile reached the target point within few metres of accuracy. The high speed on board computer and fault tolerant software along with robust and reliable bus guided the missile flawlessly, officials said.

Also, new technologies were inducted in Agni-V in the spheres of navigation and guidance, warhead and engine, they said.

Elaborating upon the basics of this missile, officials said once fired from ground the missile leaves atmosphere and after reaching the peak of its trajectory turn towards earth to move towards the target with more speed due to gravitational pull. Its path is precisely directed by the advanced onboard computer and inertial navigation system, the official added.

With Angi-V now ready to be inducted, India now has Agni-I with a range of 700 km, Agni-II with a range of 2,000 km, Agni-III and IV with ranges varying from 2,500 to 3,500 km.

The latest launch was led by Project Director, Agni-V, G Ramaguru and Programme Director, Agni, MRM Babu. Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri and Director General, Missiles and Strategic Systems Dr G Satheesh Reddy witnessed the launch. Directors of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratories and associated institutes reviewed the entire launch operations. Senior officials from the armed forces were present on the occasion.