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Mission Divyastra

Published: 14th Mar, 2024

Context

In a major technological leap for India’s nuclear deterrent, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted India’s first successful flight test of the indigenously developed Agni-V missile. 

Key-highlights

  • The flight test was named Mission Divyastra.
  • The weapon is equipped Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology.

About Agni-5 missiles

  • Agni Vis a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile. 
  • It has a range of up to 5,000 km.
  • It is road-mobile and can be transported by a truck and launched via a canister.
  • This system is also equipped with indigenous Avionics systems and high-accuracy sensor packages that ensure that the re-entry vehicles reach the target points with the desired accuracy.
  • With its range, it can bring almost the entire Asia including the northernmost part of China as well as some regions in Europe under its striking range.
  • It will greatly enhance India's national security — delivering multiple warheads to different targets with precision. 
  • The country has already deployed the Agni 1 to 4 missiles — with ranges from 700 km to 3,500 km.

Fact Box: MIRV technology

  • The technology that goes into putting multiple warheads on a single rocket or missile is known as “multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle” (MIRV) technology.
  • It involves launching a single missile carrying 4-6 warheads, each of which can be programmed to strike a separate target, several hundred kilometres apart.
  • Launching a MIRV-tipped missile – say an Agni-IV or Agni-V – offers several tactical and strategic advantages. It provides more target options to the attacker.
  • Meanwhile, the defender is forced to defend all of them simultaneously, with its anti-missile defences possibly being overwhelmed.
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