Agni-V

Type	Intercontinental ballistic missile.
Place of origin	India
Service history
In service	2014(testing)
Used by	Strategic Forces Command
Production history
Manufacturer	Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL)
Unit cost	500 million (US$9 million)[5]
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)
Speed	Mach 24
Guidance system	Ring laser gyroscope and inertial navigation system, optionally augmented by GPS. Terminal guidance with possible radar scene correlation
Launch platform	8 × 8 Tatra TEL and rail mobile launcher (canisterised missile package) [11]
Transport	Road or rail mobile

Agni-V is an intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India. It is part of the Agni series of missiles, one of the missile systems under the original Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme. According to DRDO chief, the exact range of Agni V is "classified" but afterwards he described Agni V as a missile with a range of 5,500–5,800 km.

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 (Earlier known as Agni-III* and Agni-IV), 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).

The Agni-V is expected to be operational by 2014 to 2015 after four to five repeatable tests by the DRDO. Indian authorities believe 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 utilization 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 INR25 billion (US$430 million), Agni-V will incorporate advanced technologies involving ring laser gyroscope and accelerometer for navigation and guidance. It takes its first stage from Agni-III, with a modified second stage and a miniaturised third stage to ensure it can fly to distances 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]).

The Indian defence minister A. K. Antony, addressing the annual DRDO awards ceremony, asked defence scientists to demonstrate the 5,000-kilometre (3,100 mi) missile's capability at the earliest opportunity. DRDO chief V. K. Saraswat told Times of India in mid-2011 that DRDO had tested the three solid-propellant composite rocket motor stages of Agni-V independently and all ground tests had been completed. In September 2011, Saraswat confirmed that the first test flight would be conducted in 2012 from Wheeler Island off the Orissa coast.

In February 2012, a source revealed that DRDO was almost ready for the test, but there were scheduling and logistical issues since the missile was to traverse halfway across the Indian Ocean. Countries like Indonesia and Australia as well as international air and maritime traffic in the test zone had to be alerted 7– 10 days before the test. Moreover,Indian Navy warships, with DRDO scientists and tracking and monitoring systems, were to be positioned midway and near the impact point in the southern Indian Ocean.

On 19 April 2012 at 08.05 am, the Agni V was successfully test-fired by DRDO from Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa The test launch was made from the Launch Complex 4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island using a rail mobile launcher. The flight time lasted 20 minutes and the third stage fired the re-entry vehicle into the atmosphere at an altitude of 100 kilometres (62 mi). The missile re-entry vehicle subsequently impacted the pre-designated target point more than 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi) away in the Indian Ocean.

 The director of the test range, S.P. Das, informed BBC that all test parameters were met.According to news reports the Agni-V was able to hit the target nearly at pin-point accuracy, within a few metres of the designated target point.

Chinese experts say that the missile has the potential to reach targets 8000 km away and that the Indian government had deliberately downplayed the missile's capability in order to avoid causing concern to other countries. The exact range of Agni-V is classified.