India tests Agni-V with MIRV tech, sixth to enter elite club

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, March 11

India’s strategic prowess received a further boost today as it tested a new variant of its nuclear-tipped Agni-V missile that’s capable of firing warheads at multiple targets at a distance greater than 5,000 km.

Called the Multiple Independently Targetable Re-Entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology, it allows a single missile to carry multiple warheads and strike at different locations independently. Without the MIRV technology, a missile can hit only one target for which is programmed.

The importance of today’s test was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi: “Proud of our DRDO scientists for Mission Divyastra, the first flight-test of indigenously developed Agni-V missile with MIRV technology.”

Sources explained the improvement in technology, saying the warheads on the missile needed to be programmed separately with each of these capable of hitting targets that could be a few hundred km apart. “A missile carrying MIRV is used to deceive enemy radars that would read it as a single missile and fire a counter-missile accordingly. The MIRV would then deploy in the last stage, leaving very little reaction time,” said an official.

With the test, India has joined the select group of nations — US, UK, Russia, China and France — that have MIRV capability in terms of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Pakistan recently tested Ababeel, a medium-range MIRV-capable missile with its range below 3,000 km (lower than an ICBM). The nuclear forces of the country are under the Strategic Forces Command, which reports to the Prime Minister. After April 2012, India has tested the Agni-V about 10 times, but it’s the first with MIRV technology.

The Agni-V system is equipped with indigenous avionics technology and high-accuracy sensor packages, which ensure that the re-entry vehicles reach the target points with the desired accuracy. The missile uses a three-stage solid-fuelled engine. The development and deployment of MIRV technology are sensitive and closely guarded subjects. It was first developed by the US in the 1960s during the Cold War.

Mission Divyastra

• India tests DRDO-developed Agni-V with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology
• With new technology, multiple warheads can be fired to different targets from the same missile on Agni-V platform
• Nuclear-capable Agni-V has a range of 5,000 km, making India contender for intercontinental ballistic missile long-range category
• India is sixth nation after US, UK, China, France and Russia to have the technology

How MIRV-propelled missile works

• After launch, an MIRV-equipped missile follows a normal ballistic trajectory into lower space, similar to any other missile
• Each warhead on MIRV, however, can be assigned a different trajectory and target
• The warheads re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere independently and proceed to their respective targets