The Agni-5 ballistic missile, with a range of 5,000 km, has been successfully tested in India: Although it was manufactured three years ago, the advanced Agni-5 ballistic missile was first tested by the user agency, Strategic Forces Command, on Wednesday evening. The missile is capable of carrying a nuclear weapon and competing with India's Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a range of 5,000 km.
The latest test comes at a time when relations between India and China are in full swing, and after reports that China tested a new hypersonic weapon in August.
What is the Agni 5 missile?
Agni 5 is India's long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile, which can hit a target with an accuracy of up to 5,000 km. This range places nearly all of China within the missile's target range. Although an ICBM officially needs a missile with a range of at least 5,500 km, the Agni 5 is India's closest competitor to an ICBM, as it can reach countries across other continents, including parts of Africa and Europe.
Although the government has claimed its maximum range is about 5,000 km, many reports indicate that it can hit targets up to 8,000 km away. The nuclear-capable missile can carry a warhead of about 1,500 kg and has a launch weight of 50,000 kg, making it one of the most powerful missiles in the country.
What is the history of the Agni missiles?
India began testing the Agni series of missiles in 1989 with the first test of the Agni 1, a medium-range ballistic missile, with a range of about 1,000 km. At that time, only the United States, the former Soviet Union, China, France and Israel had IRBM technology.
Since then, Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) laboratories have continued to work on it, bringing the latest Agni 5 to its current capacity. In addition to countries capable of using an intercontinental ballistic missile (IRBM), only North Korea and the United Kingdom have ICBM technology at present.
Explain also | China's New Land Border Law and India's Fears
Why is it important to India?
In a statement on Wednesday, after the test, which was the first to be conducted independently by the user agency - Strategic Force Command, the joint Tri-Services Command, responsible for India's nuclear weapons - the government said that the success of the test was "in line with India's stated policy to be It has a 'minimal credible deterrent' that supports a 'no first use' commitment."
What makes the Agni 5 agile is that it is a "canned" rocket. It means the missile can be launched from both road and rail platforms, making it easier to deploy and launch at a faster pace. The inclusion, an encapsulated system in which the missile is stored and launched from, gives the missile a longer shelf life, protecting it from harsh weather conditions.
While India is among the few countries with (arguably) an ICBM capability, the next generation Agni VI missile, under development, is expected to have a range of around 8000 km.
In terms of hypersonic missile technology (which was recently tested by China), India is among the few serious contenders working on it, even though it is behind China, the United States and Russia.
The Chief of Defense Staff, General Bipin Rawat, had said in September that India was studying the possibility of creating a missile defense force. But senior sources in the defense establishment said it was still an idea under study.
What is the hypersonic glide car that China tested?
About 10 days ago, the Financial Times reported that in August China tested a new hypersonic, nuclear-capable missile that flew around the Earth before moving towards its target, missing it twenty miles. While China has denied the report claiming it is a "spacecraft" and not a missile, it has demonstrated capability in hypersonic glide vehicle technology, which raises strategic concerns not only for its neighbors like India, but even its competitors like the United States.
A hypersonic glide vehicle is launched by a rocket moving in lower Earth orbit, at a speed of more than five times the speed of sound by 25 times. The vehicle is capable of carrying nuclear payloads, giving the launch country the strategic ability to attack virtually any target around the world.
The Financial Times reported that China's test surprised US intelligence agencies. Although many of the targets that a hypersonic missile can hit can already be reached by ICBMs, China's near-successful test has caused much concern to military powers around the world.
How is it different from ICBMs?
Intercontinental ballistic missiles, with a range of more than 5,500 km, have been around since the Second World War. These missiles, which are intended to carry nuclear payloads, have the ability to carry multiple warheads.
No comments:
Post a Comment