Mumbai, January 19: India's most formidable missile- Agni-V, having a range of over 5,000 km, is in its testing phase this year before it is inducted into the Agni missile regiment. With this, India will be a step closer to the list of countries with intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). As per reports by TOI, the canister-launch version is giving the armed forces the much-needed operational flexibility to transport and fire the missile from anywhere they want without any hassle.

The Agni-V missile aims to cover all of Asia and China within its nuclear strike capability.  Once the testing is completed, India will be in the league among US, UK, Russia, China and France who currently possess the capability.

About Agni-V:

  1. The Agni-V, a three-stage solid fuelled missile with composite motor casing in the second and third stage was made in January 3003.

  2. The Agni-V missile flies 24 times the speed of sound

  3. It is an intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India.

  4. Agni V is part of Agni series of missiles, one of the missile systems under the original Integrated Guided Missile Development Program.

  5. The missile has a strike range of over 5000-kms which covers China, Asia and also parts of Europe and Africa

To recall, the Agni-V missile was successfully test-fired by DRDO from Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa on April 19, 2012.  On September 15, 2013 India conducted a second test flight of Agni-V from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast.  On 31 January 2015, India conducted a third successful test flight of the Agni-V from the Wheeler Island facility.  On 26 December 2016, a fourth test of the missile was successfully conducted from complex 4 of Wheeler Island, Odisha.  On 18 January 2018, a fifth test of the missile was successfully conducted Wheeler Island facility, Odisha.

Currently,  the SFC already has regiments of Prithvi-II (350-km), Agni-I (700-km), Agni-II (2,000-km) & Agni-III (3,000-km) missiles to deter any threat.  The Agni-V has been designed to carry a 1.5-tonne nuclear warhead. As per reports, Agni-V has been tested four times in "developmental or experimental trials" earlier.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 19, 2018 01:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).