India's ICBM Agni V to soon be inducted in strategic units

New Delhi: With a strike range of more than 5,000 km, India’s most powerful missile till date, Agni-V, will be inducted soon.

Capable of carrying nuclear warheads, the intercontinental ballistic missile system (ICBM) will be inducted into the elite Strategic Forces Command (SFC), official sources told PTI.

The sources said a series of user trials are now being conducted before the missile is handed over to the SFC. Only last month, the Agni-V was successfully test-fired off the Odisha coast, and the sources said a number of other pre-induction tests are being planned in the next few weeks.

The induction of the Agni-V will significantly strengthen India’s military capability as a 5,000-km range missile will bring many prominent cities, including China’s Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, within India’s striking range.

“It is a strategic asset which will act as a deterrent. We are at the fag end of the strategic project,” said an official who is part of the Agni-V programme. The missile is being inducted at a time when India’s neighbourhood is witnessing evolving security threats.

Agni-V is the fifth missile in a series after Agni I (700 km range), Agni II (2,000 km range), Agni III (2,500 km range) and Agni IV (3,500 km range).

The Agni series is a brainchild of the extended Integrated Guided Missile Development Project (IGMDP), a project called off in 2008 after achieving the programme’s stated objectives. Further developments continued for enhancing range and mobility.

Very few countries have ICBMs. These are the United States, Russia, China, France and North Korea. As part of its efforts to enhance the country’s defence capabilities, the government is also working on several key projects, including integrating the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile on 40 Sukhoi combat aircraft. A fleet of 40 Sukhoi jets is undergoing structural modifications at the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) facility for integration with the missiles.