Mission Divyastra: India completes maiden flight test of indigenous ICBM Agni-5

New Delhi: India on Monday announced the successful maiden flight of a long range ballistic missile fitted with MIRV technology that will allow the nuclear-capable Agni-5 missile to simultaneously release multiple warheads towards different targets.

"The Defence Research and Development Organisation conducted the first successful flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with MIRV technology. The flight test named Mission Divyastra was carried out from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha. Various telemetry and radar stations tracked and monitored multiple re-entry vehicles. The Mission accomplished the designed parameters,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The successful trial puts India in a select league of nations having the Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) technology that was developed in the Cold War era with the US conducting the first test in 1970, followed by a submarine-launched MIRV a year later.

Besides the US and Russia, France, the UK and China are other nations that currently have such a weapon. In 2017, Pakistan also claimed to have successfully tested a MIRV system.

In a social media post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Proud of our DRDO scientists for Mission Divyastra, the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) technology," Modi said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh echoed the Prime Minister.

While the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been testing the Agni-5 missile since 2012, this was the first time the MIRV technology was tested successfully.

The development of MIRV technology, according to defence scientists, is not easy. It requires the combination of large missiles, small warheads, accurate guidance, and a complex mechanism for releasing warheads sequentially during flight.

Government sources said the project director was a woman, but didn’t disclose her identity. Also, there were significant contributions from other women scientists.

The nuclear-capable Agni-5 ballistic missile that uses a three-stage solid fuelled engine, was used for the MIRV trial, as it has an ability to hit targets at ranges up to 5,000 kilometres with a very high degree of accuracy.

Strategic experts say one of the key reasons for India to pursue the MIRV technology was an effort to overcome the Chinese ballistic missile defence system as such a technology can penetrate missile defences by using multiple genuine or decoy warheads.

There is also the additional benefit of having multiple targeting options and cost-effectiveness as one missile can strike at multiple tactical and strategic targets.

Moreover, the development of critical new weapon systems comes with the advantage of strengthening a state’s case to stake a claim for a place in future arms control negotiations, they observe.