PM Modi's big announcement: 'India successfully conducts first flight test of Agni-5 missile with MIRV technology'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced the successful test flight of the Agni 5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology. "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 said in a tweet.

Sources said this would ensure that a single missile can deploy multiple warheads at different locations. The project director is a woman and has significant women contribution, sources told ANI. 

With the test of Mission Divyastra, India has joined the select group of nations that have MIRV capability. This system is equipped with indigenous Avionics systems and high-accuracy sensor packages, which ensure that the re-entry vehicles reach the target points within the desired accuracy. "The capability is an enunciator of India’s growing technological prowess," a government source was quoted as saying by ANI. 

In the past few years, India has carried out a series of tests of Agni-5. In October 2021, the Ministry of Defence announced the successful launch of the surface-to-surface ballistic missile and said the launch was carried out on October 27 from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha. 

The missile, which uses a three-stage solid-fuelled engine, is capable of striking targets at ranges up to 5,000 kilometres with a very high degree of accuracy. "The successful test of Agni-5 is in line with India’s stated policy to have ‘credible minimum deterrence’ that underpins the commitment to ‘No First Use’."