NEWS
- 11 May | Right Approach to Study Economy For Beginners Click Here →
- 05 May | Caution!! You may enter into No productivity Zone Click Here →
- 07 May | How Toppers identify the Implicit Demand of the Question Click Here to watch Ujjawal Priyank IAS AIR 10 Strategy →
News: India successfully flight-tested an Advanced Agni missile with MIRV capability from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha on 8 May 2026.
About Advanced Agni Missile with MIRV System
About Advanced Agni Missile
- The Advanced Agni missile is a strategic missile system equipped with MIRV technology and capable of carrying multiple payloads toward different targets.
- Designed by: The missile was developed by DRDO laboratories with support from industries across the country.
- Aim: The system aims to strengthen India’s defence preparedness and improve its capability against growing threat perceptions.
Key Features
- Multiple Warhead Capability: The missile released three warheads from a single missile system, and each warhead struck separate targets spread across nearly 150–200 kilometres.
- Long-Range Strike Demonstration: The missile completed a flight of nearly 2,900 kilometres before deploying the warheads toward different targets.
- Advanced Missile Structure: The missile is a three-stage system consisting of two solid-fuel stages and one liquid-fuel third stage.
- High-Altitude and Hypersonic Operation: The missile travelled beyond the atmosphere to an optimum altitude before releasing the warheads, which moved toward targets at hypersonic speeds.
- Agni-5 Missile Variant: It is an advanced MIRV variant derived from the Agni-5 strategic missile family.
About MIRV System
- Meaning: MIRV stands for Multiple Independently Targeted Re-Entry Vehicle technology.
- Multiple Warhead Capability: MIRV technology enables a single ballistic missile to carry and deliver multiple warheads against different targets independently.
- Independent Release Mechanism: The warheads can be released from the missile at different speeds and in different directions toward separate targets.
- Cold War Development: MIRV technology was developed during the Cold War and was first operationally deployed by the United States through the LGM-30 Minuteman III missile system.
- Complex Technology Requirement: The development of MIRV technology requires large missiles, compact warheads, accurate guidance systems, and complex release mechanisms during flight.
- Limited Global Capability: Today, countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Russia possess operational MIRV capabilities, and India has now joined this group.
India’s MIRV Testing Journey
- First MIRV Test: In May 2024, DRDO successfully conducted the Agni-5 MIRV test under Mission Divyastra, demonstrating India’s capability to deploy multiple independently targetable warheads from a single missile.
- Second MIRV Test: The recent Advanced Agni missile test conducted on 8 May 2026 was the second successful MIRV-related test carried out by India.
