India's most formidable strategic missile, the over 5,000 km Agni-V, was tested from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast on Saturday morning.
NEW DELHI: Agni-V, India's most competent strategic missile, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) was tested on January 31, 2015 in Odisha coast on Saturday morning.
The 50-tonne inter-continental ballistic missile, the country's first such missile, was tested for the first time in a canisterised version.
This was the third test-firing of the three-stage missile, as was earlier reported by TOI.
Preliminary reports held that the test, conducted at 8.09am, was "successful" but a more detailed analysis was awaited.
It also came on the last day in office of missile scientist Avinash Chander, who contract as DRDO chief was abruptly ended earlier this month by the Modi government.
A canister-launch system will give the forces the requisite operational flexibility to swiftly transport the ballistic missile and launch it from a place of their choosing.
Consequently, the highly road-mobile Agni-V will be able to hit even the northernmost part of China if fired from close to the Line of Actual Control.
Agni-V can carry a 1.1-tonne nuclear warhead over 5000 km.
Agni-V is an intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India.
It is part of the Agni series of missiles, one of the missile systems under the original Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.
According to DRDO chief, the exact range of Agni V is "classified" or "understated" but afterwards he described Agni V as a missile with a range of 5500-5800 km.
As per Chinese reports, the controversial range of Agni 5 is stated to be around 8000 km.
An MIRV payload implies a single missile carrying several nuclear warheads, each programmed to hit different targets. - TNN
No comments:
Post a Comment