India's most potent nuclear-capable ballistic missile, launched successfully
Wheeler Island, Odisha: India has successfully test-launched its new ballistic missile, Agni-5, which can carry a nuclear warhead not just to Beijing and Shanghai but even the northern-most tip of China - Habin City. (Analysis: What Agni-V means for India)The test-launch, done from Wheeler Island at 8:43 am, off the Odisha coast, for the second time in two years, is seen as a major step in India's efforts to become a regional power that can counter the dominance of China.(Pics: Test-launch of Agni-5)
The Agni-5 is about 17 meters long and weighs 50 tons. It is a three-stage missile designed to carry a 1.5-ton warhead with a range of 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles), allowing it the farthest reach among all Indian missiles. The Agni-3 is India's current longest-range missile and can cover a distance of 3,500 kilometers (2,100 miles).
The first test of the Agni-5 missile was conducted in April 2012 when guidance systems - critical in determining the efficiency of missile - worked perfectly.
The development of Agni-5 began in 1983. Sources say that a few more tests will be required before the missile is ready for induction and deployment, most likely in 2017.
Agni-5 gives India the ability to launch nuclear weapons from strategic bombers and submarines. It will give India the ability to hit back or have second-strike capability even after a nuclear attack.
The Su-30 MKi and the French-made Mirage 2000 aircraft are capable of delivering nuclear missiles from the air. The INS Arihant, an indigenously-made nuclear-powered submarine is undergoing sea trials and expected to join the Indian Navy by 2016-2017. (Nuclear reactor on INS Arihant goes critical; huge step forward for India's N-triad)
India has also proven its ability to launch nuclear missiles from under the sea. Over a dozen successful test of K-15 missiles - nuclear missiles which will be launched from the submarine - have been conducted in the last few years.
