What is Agni-5, the long-range nuclear capable missile that India has tested?

The successful flight test of Agni-5 comes days after Chinese and Indian troops clashed at the Line of Actual Control in Tawang. Agni-5 can strike targets at ranges of 5,000 to 5,500 km, which puts major cities in China, including the capital Beijing, within its range.

Agni-5 has been successfully tested multiple times since 2012. (Twitter/@HardeepSPuri)

4 min readNew DelhiDec 17, 2022 07:29 AM IST First published on: Dec 16, 2022 at 03:40 PM IST

A successful flight test of India’s long-range surface-to-surface nuclear capable ballistic missile, Agni-5, was undertaken on Thursday (December 15) night.

The Strategic Forces Command (SFC), which operates the Agni-5, carried out the test from A P J Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha. Agni-5 was earlier tested last year in October by the SFC independently for the first time, a few months after China had tested its hypersonic missile.

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The latest test comes a few days after Chinese and Indian troops clashed at the Line of Actual Control in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. Agni-5 can strike targets at ranges of 5,000 to 5,500 km, which puts major cities in China, including the capital Beijing, within its range.

Here are the key features of the missile and how it came to be developed.

What is the Agni-5 missile?

The nuclear-capable missile, which uses a three-stage solid-fuelled engine, has been developed by India’s Defence Research and Development organisation (DRDO).

The development of Agni missiles started in early 1980 under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme spearheaded by scientist and former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, who was also a central figure in India’s missile and space programmes.

Medium to Intercontinental versions of Agni missile systems 1 to 5 have varying ranges — starting from 700 km for Agni-1 to 5000 km and above for Agni-5. In June 2021, DRDO successfully tested Agni P, a canisterised missile with a range capability between 1,000 and 2,000 km.

This means that the missile can be launched from road and rail platforms, making it easier for it to be deployed and launched at a quicker pace. Agni-6 is also said to be under development, with a range starting at 8000 km.

Agni-5 missile test: What was the latest test for?

Agni-5 has been successfully tested multiple times since 2012. Defence Ministry sources said the latest test was carried out primarily to validate various new technologies on board the missile. The flight performance of the missile was tracked and monitored by radars, range stations and tracking systems all through the mission including by the assets deployed in the sea.

At the time of the previous test in October 2021, the Ministry of Defence in its statement had highlighted the posture of ‘credible minimum deterrence’ and ‘No First Use’ which are pivotal points of India’s nuclear doctrine, first published in 2003.

This basically means India would never use nuclear weapons first in a conflict situation but only as retaliation, and the arsenal maintained is to only deter the possibility of an attack on India.

Also Read | Line of Actual Control: Past tense, present uncertain

Who undertook the test?

The SFC, which carried out the test, is a key tri-services formation that manages and administers all the strategic assets and falls under the purview of the Nuclear Command Authority of India.

The Nuclear Command Authority is the sole body which can authorize the use of nuclear weapons. It comprises a Political Council and an Executive Council. The Political Council is chaired by the Prime Minister. The Executive Council, chaired by the National Security Advisor, provides inputs for decision-making by the Nuclear Command Authority and executes the directives given to it by the Political Council.