
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Monday the successful completion of India’s inaugural test flight of the indigenously designed Agni 5 missile, equipped with the capability to carry multiple warheads. He disclosed that the missile is equipped with multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs), emphasizing India’s technological advancements in this domain. This significant achievement was celebrated by PM Modi, who commended the DRDO scientists for their efforts in Mission Divyastra, marking the first flight test of the Agni-5 missile with MIRV technology.
The Agni-5 missile system incorporates domestically developed avionics systems and high-precision sensor packages, ensuring the accurate targeting of re-entry vehicles. This milestone underscores India’s expanding technological prowess and its commitment to bolstering its medium- and long-range missile capabilities, particularly in response to the escalating strategic competition with China since the 1990s.
Following the successful test of Mission Divyastra, India has now joined a select group of nations possessing MIRV capabilities. This places India in the esteemed company of nations such as the United States, Russia, China, the UK, and France, which have integrated MIRV technology into their intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles. The adoption of MIRV technology significantly influences the global strategic balance, enhancing a country’s nuclear deterrence capability by enabling it to overcome enemy defenses and retaliate effectively in the event of a nuclear attack.
MIRV-equipped missiles offer considerable offensive power from fewer launchers, as a single missile can fulfill the role of multiple single-warhead missiles. Additionally, MIRV missiles have the capability to deploy decoys alongside actual warheads, complicating enemy radar and missile defense systems. This requires sophisticated technology to ensure the credibility of decoys, further augmenting the effectiveness of MIRV-equipped missiles in bolstering a nation’s strategic capabilities.