India on Monday successfully carried out maiden test flight of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed Agni-5 missile with multiple warhead system that has the potential to enhance the country’s nuclear deterrence capability.

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Dubbed as “Mission Divyastra”, a single Agni-5 missile with “Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV)“ technology can deploy multiple war heads at different locations, said government sources.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to social media, X, to announce on Monday evening, “Proud of our DRDO scientists for Mission Divyastra, the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology.”

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh joined other cabinet colleagues to congratulate DRDO scientists through his social media post for this “exceptional success” and said, “India is proud of them”.

The Technology will ensure that a single missile can deploy multiple war heads, which can even be nuclear enabled, to hit different targets in enemy territory, said sources.

The project director is a woman and has significant women contribution, government sources stated citing that the latest DRDO accomplishment is another example of nari sakti. With the test of Mission Divyastra, India has joined the select group of nations, US, Russia, China, UK and France who have MIRV capability.

This system is equipped with indigenous avionics systems and high accuracy sensor packages, which ensured that the re-entry vehicles reached the target points within the desired accuracy, government sources explained. The capability is an enunciator of India’s growing technological prowess.

On the success of Mission Divyastra, former Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Shirish Baban Deo (Retd) said, “... We are in a few handful countries who have this technology like the USA, France, Russia and maybe the UK. From this perspective, the launch is very significant. But the most significant message that we want to send is that we are prepared for everything. In case we put our minds to it and we are forced to use our strategic deterrence, it can’t be stopped. The message is very clear now, leave us alone, don’t trouble us and if you trouble us, trouble will find you that you can’t handle.”

Also read: DRDO to showcase ‘narishakti’ at RD parade

The DRDO has been trying to validate the MIRV technology since the last few years. The missile releases multiple warheads after reaching a certain tajectory to aim with precision identified different targets or same bigger target.

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