Why Agni-5 missile is a game changer for India

The first indication of the country’s intention to carry out a long-range missile test came last week when it issued a notice for a no-fly zone over the Bay of Bengal and a stretch of the eastern Indian Ocean region.

Agni-V completes the concept of a Nuclear Triad

The Agni-V completes the concept of a Nuclear Triad. India’s nuclear forces include air-delivered free-fall weapons, land-based ballistic missiles, and a nuclear attack submarine (SSBN) capability. The potent arsenal in the triad is the submarine-launched K-4 missiles, leading into the Strategic Forces Command that takes care of India’s strategic assets.

What is MIRV technology?

The test flight of Agni-5, marked the first time that the MIRV technology was tested, which aims to deploy multiple warheads at different locations in a single launch.

The Agni-5 weapon system is equipped with indigenous avionics systems and high-accuracy sensor packages, which ensured that the re-entry vehicles reached the target points within the desired accuracy.

Multiple Independently-targetable Reentry Vehicles (MIRVs) were originally developed in the early 1960s to allow a single missile to carry multiple nuclear warheads, each capable of striking different targets independently, unlike traditional missiles, according to The Centre for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

Agni-5 vs  Dongfeng missiles 

The first test of Agni-5 was carried out in April 2012 while the previous one was conducted around three years ago. Media reports say the successful test firing of the missile paves the way for its induction into the Strategic Forces Command that takes care of India's strategic assets.

China had unveiled a hypersonic medium-range missile, the DF-17, in 2019, which can travel around 2,000 kilometres and can carry nuclear warheads.

China’s ICBM–DF-41 China has been developing the Dongfeng range of missiles–DF missile.

The DF missiles are a series of ballistic missiles with the capability to engage targets at short, medium, intermediate, and intercontinental ranges. In the series, China’s DF-41 stands out in terms of its range and capabilities.