Agni 5, India's Longest Range Nuclear Capable Missile, To Be Tested Today

New Delhi:  Agni-5, India's longest range nuclear capable missile, will be tested at Kalam Island off the Odisha coast today by the Defence Research and Development Organisation or DRDO. The intercontinental surface-to-surface nuclear capable ballistic missile, the latest in India's "Agni" family of medium to intercontinental range missiles, has been through three trials before. The Agni 5 missile, with new technology for navigation and guidance, gives India the strategic depth it needs to contain its enemies, say scientists. After a few more trials, it will soon join India's military arsenal.

This will be the first test of the Agni-5 missile after India became a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime, a 35-nation group to check the spread of unmanned delivery systems for nuclear weapons.
Agni-5 has a range of over 5,000 km and can carry about a 1,000-kg warhead. It can target almost all of Asia including Pakistan and China and Europe.
The solid propellant driven



missile will be tested from a canister which gives it all-weather and any terrain mobile launch capability.
The 17-metre long Agni-5 Missile weighs about 50 tonnes and is a very agile and modern weapon system.
The surface-to-surface missile is a fire-and-forget system that cannot be easily detected as it follows a ballistic trajectory.
India already has in its arsenal the Agni 1, 2, 3 and 4 missile systems and supersonic cruise missiles like Brahmos.
India describes the Agni - 5 missile system as a 'weapon of peace'.
The first missile of the series, Agni-I was developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program and tested in 1989.
In the series, Agni-1 has a 700-km range, Agni-2 has a 2,000 km range, and Agni-3 and Agni-4 have a 2,500 km to more than 3,500 km range.
The Agni-6 is reported to be in early stages of development and the latest and most advanced version, capable of being launched from submarines as well as from land, with a strike-range of 8,000-10,000 km.