The test was carried out under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command, which is the user of the weapon.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: India on Wednesday successfully test fired its long range ballistic missile Agni-5 that can hit a target at a distance of around 5,000 km.
“Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile Agni-5 was successfully test-fired from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur in Odisha on August 20. The launch validated all operational and technical parameters,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement.
The test was carried out under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command, which is the user of the weapon.
While the ministry statement is silent on the missile’s range, last week a NOTAM (notice to airmen) was issued warning the airlines around the world about an impending trial that would require a missile to travel a distance of nearly 4,800 km.
Agni-5 was tested by the Defence Research and Development Organisation for the first time in 2012, marking New Delhi’s entry to a small club of nations that can develop inter-continental range ballistic missiles.
After half-a-dozen developmental trials, it was handed over to the Strategic Forces Command that carried out the first user trial in 2021.
The nuclear-capable, 17.5 meter long missile weighing 50 tons is a three-stage rocket that incorporates several key home grown technologies.
They include composite rocket motor, state-of-the-art avionics, 5th generation ‘On Board Computer’ distributed architecture, highly accurate Ring Laser Gyro-based inertial navigation system (RINS), reliable redundant micro navigation system and a re-entry kit shield that withstands temperature with more than 4,000 degree Celsius ensuring that avionics function normally by maintaining an inside temperature less than 50 degrees Celsius.
The missile test comes a week ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit to be held at Tianjin on August 31-September 1.
As a part of the preparatory visit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s was in New Delhi on August 18-19 during which he met the Prime Minister, attended the 24th round of Special Representatives (SRs) talks with NSA Ajit Doval and held talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.