India: Agni V Missile

Indian Defence Power Enhances With Agni V Missile

India test fired its first Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), called the “Agni-V” on 19^th April 2012. The missile was launched from Wheeler Islands, Odisha, a state in the eastern coast of India.  The missile which is also being termed as "China Killer" is capable of reaching deep into China and Europe thrusting the emerging Asian power into an elite club of nations who possess intercontinental nuclear weapons capabilities. The missile have range of more than 5000 km. from this India on Thursday joined the elite group.

       Agni-V can carry MIRV (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles) payloads which is also being concurrently developed. A single MIRVed missile can deliver multiple warheads at different targets.

       Agni-V will be operational by 2014-2015 after four-five repeatable tests by the DRDO (Defense Research and Development Organization) a military equipment research organisation.

Agni-V Specification

Weight                   : 50,000 kg

Diameter                : 2 m

Length                   : 17.5 m

Warhead                : Nuclear

Warhead weight     : 1.1 ton/1000 kg

Engine                    : Three stage solid

Operational range  : Over 5,500 km (3,400 miles)

Speed                     : 24 Mach  

          According to Chinese experts Agni-V missile has the potential to reach target 8000 km (5000 miles) away. Du added that "The Indian Government had deliberately downplayed the missile's capability in order to avoid causing concern to other countries".