Sign In
Learn bits
Defence & Security
Mahesh

12/03/24 04:06 AM IST

Mission Divyastra

In News
  • India recently announced the successful testing of an Agni missile capable of carrying multiple warheads meant to hit multiple targets simultaneously.
Agni 5 missile
  • Agni is a long-range missile developed indigenously by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO.
  • The family of Agni missiles has been in the arsenal of the Indian armed forces since the early 1990s.
  • This latest variant of the missile is equipped with what is known as MIRV (Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle) technology, first developed at least five decades ago but in possession of only a handful of countries.
MIRV technology
  • The MIRV can target multiple targets that can be hundreds of kilometers apart with a single missile.
  • This Agni, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, has a range of more than 5,000 km, making it a long-range missile, and is aimed mainly at thwarting the challenge from China.
  • As of now, the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom are known to have MIRV-equipped missiles.
  • These missiles can be launched from land or from sea from a submarine.
  • While Pakistan is developing such a missile system, Israel too is suspected to either possess the missile or be developing it.
Types of Agni-5
  • Medium to Intercontinental versions of Agni missile systems 1 to 5 have varying ranges — starting from 700 km for Agni-1 to 5000 km and above for Agni-5.
  • In June 2021, DRDO successfully tested Agni P, a canisterised missile with a range capability between 1,000 and 2,000 km.
  • This means that the missile can be launched from road and rail platforms, making it easier for it to be deployed and launched at a quicker pace.
Significance
  • The MIRV is also difficult to develop, which is why very few countries have them.
  • The development of MIRV technology is not easy.
  • It requires the combination of large missiles, small warheads, accurate guidance, and a complex mechanism for releasing warheads sequentially during flight.
  • While the USA had the technology in 1970 and the Soviet Union followed suit in the same decade, since then, only a few countries have the MIRV capabilities, a club India has now joined.
Source- Indian Express

More Related Current Affairs View All

17 Sep

Reasons Behind the heavy rain in Uttarakhand, Himachal

'Dehradun and several other districts in Uttarakhand have experienced very heavy rainfall over the past few days, triggering landslides in multiple areas and causing rivers to swel

Read More

08 Sep

Rajasthan’s coaching centre Bill

'The Rajasthan Coaching Centres (Control and Regulation) Bill, 2025, is a significant piece of legislation passed by the Rajasthan Assembly to regulate and oversee the state's burg

Read More

28 Aug

IADT-1

'Recently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully carried out its first Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-1), a crucial milestone in the preparation for the countr

Read More

India’s First Ai-Driven Magazine Generator

Generate Your Custom Current Affairs Magazine using our AI in just 3 steps