Mission Divyastra: India test-fires Agni-5 missile, PM Modi lauds DRDO scientists
India has now joined the select group of nations who have MIRV (Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry) capability.
New Delhi: India today tested Mission Divyastra - the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology.
This will ensure that a single missile can deploy multiple war heads at different locations.
The project director is a woman and has significant women contribution.
With the test of Mission Divyastra, India has joined the select group of nations who have MIRV capability.
This system is equipped with indigenous Avionics systems and high accuracy sensor packages, which ensured that the re-entry vehicles reached the target points within the desired accuracy. The capability is an enunciator of India’s growing technological prowess.
Also read: What are two Chinese surveillance vessels up to in Indian Ocean region?
PM Narendra Modi lauded DRDO scientists for the feat.
“Proud of our DRDO scientists for Mission Divyastra, the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology,” he wrote on X.
The MIRV technology uses a single missiles to carry multiple warheads including nukes, each capable of being aimed at a different target. They were developed in 1960s to allow a missile to deliver multiple nuclear warheads to different targets.
The United States was the first country to develop the MIRV technology, developing a MIRVed Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) in 1970 and a submarine-launched ballistic missile a year later.
The then Soviet Union later designed its own MIRV-enabled intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM).
Agni, meaning "fire" in Sanskrit, is the name given to a series of rockets India developed as part of a guided missile development project launched in 1983.
While the shorter-range Agni-I and II were mainly developed with traditional rival Pakistan in mind, analysts say later versions with a longer range reflect the shift in India's focus towards China.
