DRDO Successfully Test-Fires Ballistic missile Agni-V


Surface-To-Surface Ballistic Missile Agni-5

AGNI 5: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) recently carried successful test-firing of surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-5.

Key points:

  • India’s Agni 5 ballistic missile was tested for the first time by the Strategic Forces Command.
  • The missile was launched from APJ Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast.
  • The successful launch of the Agni-5 missile aligns with India’s policy to have a “credible minimum deterrence”. This policy underpins the commitment of ‘No First Use’.
  • The successful test-firing of surface to surface ballistic missile Agni-5 has also come in the midst of a lingering border stand-off with China in Eastern Ladakh.

Background:

  • The first test of the Agni-5 missile was carried out in April 2012.
  • Last test was conducted around three years ago in 2018.

About Agni V:

  • Agni-V is a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
  • It is a three-stage, solid-fuelled and road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile.
  • It is India’s long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile, which can hit a target with a precision that is 5,000 km away. This range puts almost the entire China within the missile’s target range.
  • Agni-V is a fire and forget missile, which once fired cannot be stopped, except by an interceptor missile.
  • It is transported by a truck and launched using a canister.
  • This missile has been built by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO).
  • It has been developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).

About IGMDP:

  • IGMDP stands for Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.
  • IGMDP was conceived by Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to enable India to attain self-sufficiency in the field of missile technology.
  • It was approved by the Government of India (GoI) in 1983 and completed in March 2012.
  • The 5 missiles developed under this program are Prithvi, Agni, Trishul, Nag, Akash (P-A-T-N-A).


Share