Key trial of 5,000-km ICBM Agni-V in October

What is the News?

India is set to conduct the first user trial of Agni-V Missile.

What is Agni-V?

Agni-V is a nuclear-capable InterContinental Ballistic Missile(ICBM). The missile has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).

What are the key Features of Agni-V missiles?

Expected Range: The missile has a strike range of around 5,000 kms and can hit targets deep inside China, entire Asia and Europe and parts of Africa.

Weight: The missile weighs close to 50,000 kilograms. The missile is 1.75 meters tall with a diameter of 2 metres. It can carry a nuclear payload of 1,500 kg.

MIRV Technology: The most striking feature of Agni-V is its MIRV (Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles) technology. In this technique, multiple weapons can be installed instead of one in the warhead mounted on the missile. That is, a missile can hit multiple targets simultaneously.

Satellite Guidance: The missile is equipped with a ring laser gyroscope inertial navigation system (NavIC) that works with satellite guidance.

Source: This post is based on the article ”Key trial of 5,000-km ICBM Agni-V in October” published in TOI on 24th September 2021.