Nuke capable Agni 5 missile takes to skies with multiple warheads

Mission ‘Divyastra’ or the ‘weapon of the Gods’ saw a successful flight test on Monday as the home-made missile equipped with multiple warhead capability took to the skies with aplomb from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast.

A statement from India’s premier military R&D arm Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said the missile was equipped with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-Entry Vehicle (MIRV) capability.

A ballistic missile, the MIRV comprises multiple warheads with each warhead aimed at a specific target.

The statement said: “Various Telemetry and radar stations tracked and monitored multiple re-entry vehicles. The mission accomplished the designed parameters.”

PM Narendra Modi posted on social media platform X: “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.”

Defence minister Rajnath Singh termed it “an exceptional success”.

The nuclear-capable Agni 5 with a rage of about 5,000-7,000 km would bring within India’s striking range the whole of China including some parts of Europe.

India has been test-firing the Agni 5 since 2016, but hasn’t deployed the missile yet.

Already, India has in its arsenal Agni 1 (700-1,200 km range), Agni 2 (2,000-3,000 km), Agni 3 (3,500-5,000) and Agni 4 (3,000-4,000). Agni 6 (7,000-10,000) is in the developmental stage. 

While further tests may be needed to validate deployment of the Agni 5 under the Strategic Command Forces of the Indian military, it is but the logical culmination of ongoing scientific research and development.

The speed of the Agni 5 is supersonic or purportedly between 2-3 Mach (2-3 times the speed of sound).