Agni V ICBM – A Milestone in Indian Defence History

By Marshal Panda (Sambalpur): Agni V was successfully test fired from off the Odisha coast today adding one more feather to DRDO’s cap. It has more value than its strategic deterrent role. It is the currency of power in the United Nations.

The permanent five in the Security Council have only one thing in common, they are all ICBM powers. It is the capacity to influence the outcome of battles anywhere in the world.

Its range is said to be 5500 to 5800 Kms. The Chinese estimate its range to be of 8000 Kms. All the worthwhile strategic targets in China are beyond the range of Indian fighter bombers and other series of missiles. With its present range, Agni V can cover entire Asia and parts of Europe & Africa.

ICBMs are vehichles of deterrence only. No ICBM has ever been fired in anger anywhere. Jonathan Pollock of the influential Rand Corporation had said long back,”the Chinese see the missiles as having political, psychological and may be military advantages.” Agni V is said to have MIRV capability with a circular probability error of a few meters. That is, the missile can deliver multiple warheads on a no. of targets accurately within a few meters of the impact point. A nuclear warhead weighs 200 to 500 kgs and the Agni V can carry a load of about 1.5 tones.

Once deployed, it will work as a real deterrent against China. As the doyen of Indian strategic analysts, the late K Subrahmanyam used to say, “will the Chinese risk Kunming & Chengdu at present and even Shanghai & Guangzu later – when India has an operational Agni, for any conceivable political, military and strategic objectives?” Agni V can cover even China’s northern most point.

Cograts DRDO.