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Agni-V is an intermediate/intercontinental ballistic missile in development by India.

Introduction

According to one of the India's senior defence scientists, Dr M Natrajan, DRDO is working on an upgraded version of the Agni III known as the Agni-V (Earlier known as Agni-III* (Agni-III star) and Agni-IV). The missile will have a range of about 5000-6000 km and the first test flight is expected in 2010 end. According to the recent news, Agni V can hit most of the northern cities of china.

Description

The Agni-V is a three stage solid fueled missile with composite motor casing in the third stage. Two stages of this missile will be made of composite material. Agni-V will be able to carry multiple warheads and will have countermeasures against Anti-ballistic missile systems.

The design of the missile is completed and the first test is expected in 2010. The missile will utilize a canister and will be launched from it. Sixty percent of the missile will be similar to the Agni-III missile. Advanced technologies like ring laser gyroscope and accelerometer will be used in the new missile.

The Agni-5 will be the first canisterised, road-mobile missile in India's arsenal, similar but shorter in range to the missile Pakistan is currently developing. India's current long-range missile, the Agni-3, a non-canisterised missile, can only be moved with difficulty from one place to another.

In many other respects, the Agni-5, which is scheduled to make its first flight in early-2011, carries forward the Agni-3 pedigree. With composites used extensively to reduce weight, and a third stage added on (the Agni-3 was a two-stage missile), the Agni-5 can fly 1,500 km further than the 3,500-km Agni-3.

"The Agni-5 is specially tailored for road-mobility," explains Avinash Chander, Director, ASL. "With the canister having been successfully developed, all India's future land-based strategic missiles will be canisterised as well".

Made of maraging steel, a canister must provide a hermitically sealed atmosphere that preserves the missile for years. During firing, the canister must absorb enormous stresses when a thrust of 300to 400 tonnes is generated to eject the 50-tonne missile.

Another major technological breakthrough that will beef up the Agni-5 is ASL's success in developing and testing MIRVs (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles). A MIRV, atop an Agni-5 missile, comprises three to 10 separate nuclear warheads. Each warhead can be assigned to a separate target, separated by hundreds of kilometres; alternatively, two or more warheads can be assigned to one target.

References

1. "Technical tune to Agni test before talks". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
2. Y. Mallikarjun, Agni-V design completed; to be test-fired in 2010, The Hindu, 27 November 2008
3. http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/oct/15/indian-missile-can-target-northernmost-chinese-city.htm
4. Press Trust of India. "Next variant of Agni to be inducted within 4 years: Scientist". Retrieved 2007-09-26.
5. Full of fire
6. India planning to test fire 5000-km range missile soon
7. DRDO readying design for 8,000 km-range Agni-V
8. DRDO to make missiles lighter, cost-effective
9. Agni V, next goal of DRDO
10. Agni-V design completed; to be test-fired in 2010
11. ^ http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/oct/12/what-makes-5000-km-range-agni-5-missile-deadlier.htm

• Ballistic missiles of India
• Intermediate-range ballistic missiles
• Intercontinental ballistic missiles