The stage has been set for the final testing of Agni V missile, and it will undoubtedly be a milestone for missile scientists of the country. With the completion of the final test, either by the end of this December or in January 2017, India will join the super-exclusive club of nations with high-range inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBM). Those that currently possess such missiles — with a range of over 5,000 kilometres to 5,500 kilometres — include America, Russia, the UK and China. The ICBM is reported to be a game-changer in the nuclear kitty of India. Sources say that unlike the other missiles, Agni V and its earlier version Agni IV, are meant as deterrence against Chinese designs. Other short-range missiles, like Dhanush, Prithvi, Agni I, Agni II and Agni III, had been seen as geared towards Pakistan.
As per reports available, once the final test is carried out, it will be followed by a series of user trials by the tri-Services Strategic Forces Command, which was constituted in 2003 to manage the nuclear arsenal. Thereafter, these sophisticated missiles would be formally inducted for use by the Armed Forces. The Agni missile has come a long way, starting from the induction of its first version in the year 1989. It is a solid-fuelled ICBM, developed by the Defence Research Development Organisation, under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme. However, from its initial stage, covering a fire-power of 700 kilometres, it has been upgraded to 2,000km, then 3,000km and at the fourth stage, it reached 3,500km. And now the ICBM has come with a super-range of 5,500km and more. This shows how research and development of the missile has gradually succeeded in removing many technical snags to come to global standards. But, when we compare the capabilities of the Agni V version with such other missiles of the biggies in this league, our striking range still remains lower than the rest. According to sources, in the super-exclusive club of ICBMs, Russia's ‘R-36' has the maximum range of 16,000km, China's ‘DF-41'-15,000km, the US's ‘Minuteman'-13,000km, and the UK's ‘Trident'-12,000 km. In that case, India needs to go a long way and, experts say that the country has the will, resources and the vision to achieve it.
The missiles are prized assets of our forces. Though globally, our missiles have a low striking capability, yet we are way ahead of Pakistan's most advanced missiles like ‘Shaeen’ and ‘Ghauri' series, which were suspected to be developed with the covert support of technologies from China and North Korea. The already inducted Shaeen-II and Ghauri-II have striking ranges of 2,500km and 1,800km respectively. Though there is little possibility of a nuclear conflagration in Asia — and India certainly doesn’t want it — there is no scope for complacency. Given the cross-border realities and those in the regional in general, India must relentlessly pursue its missile technology programme.
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