NEW DELHI – India successfully test-fired the indigenously developednuclear-capable Long Range Ballistic Missile Agni-5.
Sixth success for Agni-5
The surface-to-surface missile was launched with the help of a mobilelauncher from launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Dr AbdulKalam Island in the Bay of Bengal at 9.48 am. This was the sixth trial ofthe Agni-5, which has the farthest reach among all Indian missiles. Atpresent, India has in its armoury the Agni series — Agni-1 with 700 kmrange, Agni-2 with 2,000 km range, Agni-3 and Agni-4 with 2,500 km to morethan 3,500 km range.ADVERTISEMENT
The first test of Agni-5 was conducted on April 19, 2012, the second onSeptember 15, 2013, the third on January 31, 2015, and fourth on December26, 2016. The last test was held on January 18, 2018. All the five earliertrials were successful.Agni-5 specifications
Agni-V is capable of striking even the northernmost parts of China.Geographically, the missile’s cover space ranges from all of China in theEast to all of Europe in the West. The missile is able to travel fasterthan a bullet and can carry with it at least a 1,000 kg of nuclear weapon.
The three-stage missile is about 17 metres long and weighs 50 tonnes. Thefirst rocket engine equipped with the missile lifts it to a height of about40 km. The second stage pushes it to about 150 km. The third stage takesAgni-5 to about 300 km above the Earth and the missile finally reaches aheight of about 800 km.Most advanced of India’s missiles
Agni-5 is also the most advanced among Indian missiles with newtechnologies in terms of navigation and guidance, warhead and engine.Navigation systems, very high accuracy Ring Laser Gyro based InertialNavigation System (RINS) and the most modern and accurate Micro NavigationSystem (MINS) ensure that the missile reaches the target point within fewmeters of accuracy.
The missile has been programmed in such a way that after reaching the peakof its trajectory, it will turn towards the earth and continue its journeytowards the intended target with an increased speed due to gravitationalpull. The path has been precisely directed by the advanced onboard computerand inertial navigation system.
As the missile enters the earth’s atmosphere, the atmospheric air rubbingthe skin of the missile during the re-entry phase raises the temperaturebeyond 4,000 degrees Celsius. However, the indigenously designed anddeveloped carbon-carbon composite heat shield continues to burnsacrificially, protecting the payload and maintaining the insidetemperature below 50 degrees Celsius.
However, the capabilities of the Agni-5 pale in comparison to China’s ICBM– the CSS-10 Mod 2, which has a range in excess of 11,200 km and can reachmost locations within continental United States. Moreover, China is alsodeveloping the DF-41 ICBM, which will be able to carry up to 10maneuverable nuclear warheads, each weighing 100 to 200 kilo tonnes to amegaton size. The missile range is expected to be between 12,000-15,000km,and thus, will be capable of reaching every corner of the Earth.