Since its initial flight in April 2012, India's Agni-V ICBM (Intercontinental-range Ballistic missile) has conducted nine successful trials. India successfully tested the Agni-V missile at night on December 15, 2022, from Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha. The purpose of the test was to validate new apparatus and technology for the weapon system.
The Agni-V missile is 20% lighter than prior iterations thanks to the replacement of maraging steel (extremely high tensile steel) with lightweight composite materials. The launch demonstrated the potential to strike beyond 7,000 kilometers. However, due to Agni-V's restricted payload carrying capacity of 1.5 tonnes, an effective and credible Indian nuclear deterrence against China still remains unfulfilled.
In many ways, India's integrated guided missile development program must go above and beyond.
The 'DRDO Veda' (Vehicle for Defence Application), a satellite launch vehicle (SLV), is being developed by Indian scientists and engineers in the meantime. By employing DRDO Veda, all three wings of the Indian armed services will be able to launch military satellites into low earth orbit on short notice, greatly reducing their need for ISRO and advancing their goals of self-reliance.
In addition, DRDO Veda will use a different approach from ISRO's SSLV rocket, vertical stacking, for building the launch vehicle before liftoff: horizontal stacking of stages and payloads. The vehicle can be launched from a multi-axle TEL (Transporter Erector-Launcher) vehicle and will be very mobile and nimble.
While the Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which has nuclear capability, has successfully completed nine test flights since 2012, there hasn't been much progress made on the eagerly anticipated Agni-VI missile project. Former DRDO Chairman Dr. Vijay Kumar Saraswat indicated quite explicitly that India had no intention of capping the Agni missile program after Agni-V's first trial on April 19, 2012, and that there would be more missiles in the Agni series as a follow-up to Agni-V in the upcoming years.
With a 1.5-ton nuclear payload, the Agni-V has an effective range of over 5,500 kilometers. A fundamental physical law states that the weight of a warhead and the missile's range are inversely related because of gravity and momentum.Â
