NEW DELHI – India is in the process of inducting the first batch of itsintercontinental ballistic missile system — Agni-V — which will bringtargets across China within its range, and is expected to significantlybolster the country’s military prowess.
The missile system, with a strike range of 5,000 km and capable of carryingnuclear warhead, is being inducted into the elite Strategic Forces Command(SFC), official sources said.
They said a series of user trials is being conducted before the country’smost sophisticated weapon is handed over to the SFC.
Defence experts said the missile is capable of bringing targets acrossChina, including its prominent cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou andHong Kong, under its range.
Last month, Agni-V was successfully test-fired off the Odisha coast and thesources said a number of other pre-induction tests are being planned in thenext few weeks.
“It is a strategic asset which will act as a deterrent. We are at the fagend of the strategic project,” said an official, who is part of the Agni-Vprogramme.
He said it is the most advanced weapon in its series as it has latesttechnologies for navigation and its capability of carrying nuclear warheadis much superior.
The first batch of Agni-V will be handed over to the SFC “soon”, thesources said, while declining to elaborate further on the closely-guardeddefence project.
The missile is being inducted at a time when India’s neighbourhood iswitnessing evolving security threats.
Very few countries, including the US, China, Russia, France and NorthKorea, have intercontinental ballistic missiles.
In its armoury, India currently has Agni-1 with a 700-km range, Agni-2 witha 2,000-km range, Agni-3 and Agni-4 with a 2,500-km to more than 3,500-kmrange.
The first test of Agni-5 was conducted on April 19, 2012, the second onSeptember 15, 2013, the third on January 31, 2015 and the fourth onDecember 26, 2016.
The fifth test was held on January 18. All the five trials were successful.
As part of its efforts to enhance the country’s defence capabilities, thegovernment is also working on several key projects including integratingthe Brahmos supersonic cruise missile on 40 Sukhoi combat aircraft.
The air-launched variant of the Brahmos, the world’s fastest supersoniccruise missile, was successfully test-fired from a Sukhoi-30 combat jet onNovember 22, marking a major milestone to enhance the precision strikecapability of the air force.
The defence ministry is now expediting the process to integrate the Brahmosmissile on 40 Sukhoi combat aircraft.
The fleet of 40 Sukhoi jet is undergoing structural modifications at theState-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) for integrationof the missile on them