ISLAMABAD – India says it has successfully test-fired its longest-rangenuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a move thatcould be perceived as provocative by nuclear-armed neighbors Pakistan andChina.
According to a statement released by the Indian Defense Ministry, thethree-stage, 17-meter-long, two-meter-wide Agni-5 ICBM was fired from AbdulKalam island off the coast of the eastern state of Odisha at around 9:53a.m. local time on Thursday (0423 GMT).
The statement said that the home-grown missile had a strike range of 5,000kilometers, adding that it was the most potent and had the longest range inits class in the country. It also described the launch as “a major boost tothe defense capabilities of” India.
The Agni-5, which is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead of about 1.5tonnes, is a fire-and-forget missile, meaning that once fired it cannot bestopped, except by an interceptor missile that is only in possession of afew countries, including the US and Russia. Pakistan currently is not inpossession of anti missile defence system like Russia S – 400 or AmericanPatriots.However India has already ordered the S 400 missile defence systemfrom Russia to cater threat from Pakistan and China.
According to some unnamed military sources, the sophisticated missile,which can also be deployed on mobile launchers, traveled for 19 minutes andcovered 4,900 kilometers before it hit the intended target, whosewhereabouts are yet to be disclosed.The long-range ballistic Agni-5 missile is displayed during the full dressrehearsal for the annual Republic Day parade at Rajpath on January 23,2013, in New Delhi, India. (Photo by GettyImages)
The Agni-5 was reportedly last tested on December 26, 2016. The first twosuccessful flights of Agni-5 in 2012 and 2013 were in open configuration.India currently has in its armory of Agni (or fire) series, Agni-1 with a700-kilometer range, Agni-2 with a 2,000-kilometer range, Agni-3 and Agni-4with a range varying from 2,500 to more than 3,500 kilometers.
The Agni family was first developed as part of a program that commenced inthe 1980s.
It is said that the advanced ICBM, if required, can also be employed todestroy satellites as an anti-satellite weapon and can also be used to putIndian satellites into orbit in hostile circumstances.
New Delhi claims that it faces a purported twin threat from both arch foePakistan, which is reportedly developing a nuclear and missile program ofits own, as well as China, with which a long-running dispute over theHimalayan border has erupted in recent years.