India has successfully test-fired its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Agni-V joined an elite club of countries with such nuclear-capable rockets on 19 april 2012. Officially, this new weapon has a reach of around 5000 km with a 1.5-ton warhead, but it has unofficially been stated to be capable of hitting targets as far as 6000 km. This means that deeper parts of China and Europe are now within its range. However, no country, including the US, China, or even NATO, has expressed any concern about this new development, because India has a no-first-strike doctrine, and has the reputation of not having used missiles against any country till date.
The Agni-V stands 17.5 m tall and is propelled by solid fuel in three stages. It weighs 50 tons and has costed more than Rs 2.5 billion to develop. The Agni class of missiles have a range starting at 700 km. The missile was launched from Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast at 0807 IST today. DRDO chief controller Avinash Chander was emphatic, "We have met all our mission objectives", while chief VK Saraswat was jubilant about India emerging as a major missile power. He added, "Fired from a canister-launch system to provide it greater operational flexibility of being either rail- or road-launched, the Agni-V compares favourably with ICBMs in use by nuclear weapons states like Britain, China, France, Russia and the US. The advanced technologies incorporated into Agni-V are far ahead of other countries with few exceptions, like the US". The new missile could prove as a deterrent for the Chinese missiles deployed in Tibet and south-west China. As mentioned earlier, India has entered an exclusive club of a small group of countries possessing such missiles that includes Britain, China, France, Russia, and the US. You can view or download the official DRDO launch videos of the missile by clicking here, and here.
The three-stage design makes it go farther.
The new missile has a considerably enhanced reach.
(courtesy:www.techtree.com)
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