India conducts first flight test of locally developed Agni-5 MIRV missile

Asia-Pacific, News March 12, 2024 , by IRIA No Comments

India successfully conducted the inaugural flight test of its domestically produced Agni-5 missile featuring Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the test was conducted on March 11, 2024.

In a short statement released on the social media platform X, the Indian Prime Minister congratulated the scientists at the Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) for the successful execution of the flight test. The inaugural flight of the Agni-5 missile was designated as Mission Divyastra and it was conducted from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha, an eastern Indian state on the Bay of Bengal.

Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh said on X that India had “joined the select group of nations” capable of employing missile technology.

India has been developing medium- and long-range missile systems since the 1990s, however, New Delhi has ramped up its military production and developed capabilities amid strategic competition with China.

Indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-Entry Vehicle ( MIRV) technology successful tested as part of Mission Divyastra today https://t.co/6NVZgWoZ4z pic.twitter.com/zsotqZtLUq
— DRDO (@DRDO_India) March 11, 2024

According to some reports by Indian media outlets, a Chinese research vessel raced up to India’s eastern seafront and stationed in international waters off the Indian coastline. The Chinese vessel, Xian Yang Hong 01, was about 480 kilometers off the coast of Visakhapatnam, the area where the missile launch took place. The Chinese ship was reported to arrive only days after India issued an alarm regarding an upcoming missile launch off the Odisha coast.

The Agni missiles belong to the category of long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missiles. In 2021, India conducted a successful test of Agni-5, a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile boasting a range of 5,000 kilometers, speculated to possess the capability to target almost all regions of China.

Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV)

This is the first time that India has integrated the MIRV technology into its long-range missiles. MIRV technology, first developed in the 1960s, is a capability employed in ballistic missile systems, notably for nuclear weapons delivery. It enables a single missile to carry multiple warheads, each capable of being independently targeted to different locations. This advancement allows for increased destructive potential from a single missile launch as well as greater strategic flexibility in targeting.

MIRV-equipped missiles, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), pose significant challenges to missile defense systems due to their ability to saturate defenses by aiming at multiple targets simultaneously.

India Agni-V missile — *^{A surface-to-surface Agni-V missile is launched from the Wheeler Island off the eastern Indian state of Odisha on September 15, 2013. (Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation)}*

Currently, only the United States, Britain, France, China, and Russia are among the countries that use MIRV missiles, while Pakistan tested its MIRV missile in 2017, however, Islamabad has not publically proclaimed possession of such technology.

While MIRV technology enhances a country’s nuclear deterrent capability, it also raises concerns regarding the escalation of arms races and the potential for increased instability in international relations due to the complexities of defense and the potential for accidental or unauthorized use of nuclear weapons.