M Somasekhar
Agni-V, the ‘Big Boy’ in the country’s missile armoury, was successfully launched on Sunday from the APJ Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha. This is the sixth successful test flight of the missile.
The nuclear-capable, intercontinental ballistic missile has a range of over 5,000 km.
The first two Agni-V tests were land-based and the next four were launched from a canister on a mobile launcher. The sixth test, carried out at around 9.45 am on Sunday, met all the mission objectives, said a Defence Ministry statement.
Checks all boxes
The test validated critical avionics systems on board the missile that were developed by the RCI, Hyderabad.
The flight performance of the missile was monitored by radars, range stations and tracking systems. All objectives were fully met. The success of Agni-V reaffirms the country’s indigenous missile capabilities and strengthens its credible deterrence, the Defence Ministry sources said.
G Ramguru was the mission’s Programme Director, and MRM Babu, the project director. The Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Hyderabad, is the nodal lab for the Agni series of missiles.
More than 200 industries in private and public sectors are involved in the Agni missile programme.
The Agni-V project began in 2012 with the first two flights tested on an open configuration and launched from the Wheeler Island (now the APJ Abdul Kalam Island). Since the launch of Agni missile programme in the 1980s, the DRDO has developed, tested and is in the process of inducting five missiles of different ranges and hit capabilities.
Coincidentally, Sunday’s test comes on the last day of the tenure of the Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, G Satheesh Reddy.
Reddy is also the Director General, Missiles & Strategic Systems of the DRDO, in which responsibility he will continue.
Meanwhile, DRDO chief S Christopher retired on May 29.