India successfully test-fired nuclear-capable long-range ballistic missile Agni-V on Monday. The missile was launched from a canister on a road mobile-launcher from Dr. Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha.

“This is the third successful launch of Agni-V this year and the fifth launch of the missile in a canisterised form,” an official source said. The missile was earlier tested in January and June this year.

Agni-V is an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a strike range of over 5,000 km and can reach most parts of China. The mission critical avionics were indigenously designed and developed by Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad.

“All the mission objectives were successfully achieved. This launch comes after a series of successful launches of the missile. It further strengthens the country’s deterrence capability, which has been developed indigenously by assiduous efforts of scientists,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The launch was a user-assisted trial and the launch operations were carried out and monitored by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) in presence of scientists from Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Agni series of missiles constitute the backbone of India’s nuclear weapons delivery which also includes the Prithvi short-range ballistic missiles and fighter aircraft. The submarine-based nuclear arsenal which assures second strike capability in the face of the proclaimed No-First-Use policy is taking shape with INS Arihant completing its first deterrence patrol recently.