India released the first image of the Agni-5 ballistic missile with multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) technology tested on Monday.
"The first successful flight-test of indigenously-developed Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-Entry Vehicle Technology has been carried out by DRDO from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha," India's Ministry of Defense said on Instagram in a post along with the photo on Tuesday.
On Monday, India conducted a successful test of its Agni-5 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), with its ability to carry multiple nuclear warheads. This test has now put India in the elite club of countries with the same capability, including the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China.
India's Defense Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), the leading force behind the Agni series, has been developing missile technology to deter India's two primary adversaries, China and Pakistan. Angi-5 can carry micro-nukes, mini-nukes, and even large thermo-nuclear weapons, NDTV reported.
"Proud of our DRDO scientists for Mission Divyastra ('divine weapon' in Hindi), the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.
The Agni-5 ICBM has a range between 3,100-4,900 miles, according to the Washington think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies. The range of the missile suggests that its primary target is China rather than New Delhi's traditional adversary, Pakistan.
The missile test was conducted as China and India have been locked in a four-year-long military stand-off at their border, with thousands of soldiers deployed at the Line of Actual Control.
The Agni-5 test has allowed for the deployment of three MIRVs over a distance exceeding 2,000 miles, showcasing the missile's capability of reaching up to 3,000 miles.
Newsweek contacted the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi for comment.
Rakesh Sharma, a retired Indian Army general who is now a distinguished fellow at the Vivekananda International Foundation think tank in New Delhi, recently told Newsweek that the test sends a signal to China.
"China has attempted to geopolitically pressurize in manifold ways by creating a technological asymmetry. Indigenous development of MIRVed ICBM intimates to the region and world at large that India has the technological prowess. India also is a capable nation against an expansionist China," Sharma said.
Meanwhile, Chinese experts have said India's hypothetical enemy is China.
"Usually, ICBMs have ranges greater than 5,500 kilometers, but this Indian missile with a range of 5,000 kilometers, which is also referred to as an ICBM, particularly shows that India's main hypothetical enemy is China," Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Chinese state-run newspaper Global Times on Tuesday.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aadil Brar is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers international security, U.S.-China relations, and East Asian ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
