India Tests Agni-5 successfully
India has successfully test fired
surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-5, which has high degree of accuracy
and has capability of striking targets at ranges up to 5000 km, is India's
Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) contender. It is tested for the
first time by the user agency, the Strategic Forces Command, a joint
tri-service command that is responsible for the country's nuclear weapons.
This missile has further strengthened
India's deterrence capability and is in line with India's commitment to 'No
First Use' and its policy to have 'credible minimum deterrence' but it comes at
a time of persistently high tensions between India and China and after China
tested a hypersonic glide vehicle in August. The Agni-5 project was aimed at
enhancing India's nuclear deterrence China.
Agni missiles from one 1 to 5, are
designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO). While Agni-1 offers 700 km range, version 2, 3 and 4 of 2000 km, 2500
km, and 3500 km respectively. The latest version of Agni is a canisterised
missile, in that it can be launched from road and rail platforms. Some reports
have suggested that the missile could reach up to 8000 km - in any case, even
though the official range falls short of the ICBM classification threshold of
5500 km (Agni-6 currently under development, is expected to have a range of
8000 km).
Globally, the main concern in that
once the technology is successfully established by one country, it would lead
to a wider race for the capability and eventual proliferation. India is
surrounded by it's potent threat rising across its borders and measuring the
scenarios, it is evident that India needs to ramp up its security to counter
its enemy.
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