Agni V

Agni-V
Launch of the Agni V
Type	Intercontinental ballistic missile
Place of origin	India
Service history
In service	2016-Current
Used by	Strategic Forces Command
Production history
Designer	Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
Manufacturer	Bharat Dynamics Limited
Unit cost	₹50 crore (US$8 million)
Specifications
Weight	50,000 kg
Length	17.5 m
Diameter	2 metres (6 ft 7 in)
Warhead	Nuclear
Warhead weight	1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb)
Engine	Three stage solid fuel
Operational range	Over 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi) Upto 8,000 kilometres (5,000 mi)
Speed	Mach 24 (terminal phase)
Guidance system	Ring laser gyroscope and inertial navigation system, optionally augmented by GPS/IRNSS. Terminal guidance with possible radar scene correlation
Steering system	flex-nozzle Thrust vectoring(all stages)
Accuracy	less than 10 m
Launch platform	8 × 8 Tatra TEL and rail mobile launcher (canisterised missile package)
Transport	Road or rail mobile

Agni-V is an intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India. Agni V is part of the Agni series of missiles, one of the missile systems under the original Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. The DRDO chief V.K. Saraswat initially declined to disclose the exact range of Agni-V. Later, however, he described Agni V as a missile with a range of 5,500–5,800 km. A report in the Global Times claims that the missile has a range of around 8,000 kilometres (5,000 mi).

Senior defence scientist M. Natrajan disclosed in 2007 that DRDO was working on an upgraded version of the Agni III, known as the Agni-V, and that it would be ready in 4 years. The missile was to have a range of more than 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi).

It was estimated that the missile will be operational by 2014 to 2015 after four to five repeatable tests. Indian authorities believed that the solid-fuelled Agni-V is more than adequate to meet current threat perceptions and security concerns. The missile will allow India to strike targets across Asia and into Europe. The missile was designed to be easy to transport by road through the utilisation of a canister-launch missile system which is distinct from those of the earlier Agni missiles. Agni-V would also carry MIRV (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles) payloads being concurrently developed. A single MIRV equipped missile can deliver multiple warheads at different targets.

With a launch mass of around 50 tonnes (49 long tons; 55 short tons) and a development cost of over ₹2,500 crore (US$388 million), Agni-V incorporated advanced technologies involving ring laser gyroscope and accelerometer for navigation and guidance. It took its first stage from Agni-III, with a modified second stage and a miniaturised third stage enabling it to fly distance of 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi). With a canister-launch system to impart higher road mobility, the missile will give the armed forces much greater operational flexibility than the earlier-generation of Agni missiles. According to a source, the accuracy levels of Agni-V and the 3,800-kilometre (2,400 mi) Agni-IV (first tested in November 2011), with their better guidance and navigation systems, are far higher than Agni-I (700 km [430 mi]), Agni-II (2,000 km [1,200 mi]) and Agni-III (3,000 km [1,900 mi]). According to the Project Director of Agni V, Tessy Thomas, the missile achieved single-digit accuracy in its second test.