Context:
Recently, India successfully test-fired nuclear-capable ballistic missile Agni-V that can strike targets at ranges up to 5,000 km, marking a significant boost to the country’s strategic deterrence.
Relevance:
GS-III: Science and Technology (Achievements of Indians in Science & Technology, Defence Technology, Indigenization of Technology)
Dimensions of the Article:
- About Agni Missiles
- Agni-V missile
About Agni Missiles
There are 5 Agni series of missiles:
- Agni I: Range of 700-800 km.
- Agni II: Range more than 2000 km.
- Agni III: Range of more than 2,500 Km
- Agni IV: Range is more than 3,500 km and can fire from a road mobile launcher.
- Agni-V: The longest of the Agni series, an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a range of over 5,000 km.
Agni-V missile
- Agni-V is an Indian nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
- The exact range of the Agni-V missile is classified. The missile is believed to have a range of over 5,000 km and expandable up to 8,000 km.
- It is a three-stage solid-fuelled missile.
- Agni-V incorporated advanced technologies involving ring laser gyroscope and accelerometer for navigation and guidance. A ring laser gyroscope based inertial navigation system (RLG-INS) is primarily responsible for guiding the Agni-V to its target. However, Agni-V is equipped with another guidance system called micro inertial navigation system (MINGS) as a backup. These are capable of interacting with Indian and non-Indian satellite navigation systems.
- Agni-V is also expected to feature Multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs) with each missile being capable of carrying 2–10 separate nuclear warheads.
- India is the eighth country to have intercontinental ballistic missiles after the US, UK, Russia, China, France, Israel and North Korea.
- Agni V is primarily for enhancing India’s nuclear deterrence against China.
- The test-firing of the missile from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast comes amid India’s lingering border row with China.
- Agni-V can bring almost the entire Asia including the northernmost part of China and regions in Europe under its striking range.
-Source: The Hindu
