• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully carried out the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle ( MIRV) technology.

• The MIRV feature ensures that a single missile can deploy multiple warheads at different locations.

• The flight test named ‘Mission Divyastra’ was carried out from A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha.

• Various telemetry and radar stations tracked and monitored multiple re-entry vehicles.

• India has already carried out a number of tests of Agni-5 but it was for the first time that the flight test was carried out with MIRV.

• The countries that have missiles with MIRV capabilities are the US, Russia, the UK, China and France.

MIRV technology

• According to The Centre for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRV) technology was originally developed in the early 1960s.

• It was developed to allow a single missile to carry multiple nuclear warheads, each capable of striking different targets independently, unlike traditional missiles.

• Warheads on missiles with this technology can be released from the missile at different speeds and in different directions. 

• 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.

Agni-5 missile

• Agni-5 missile has a range of up to 5,000 km and it can bring almost the entire Asia including the northernmost part of China as well as some regions in Europe under its striking range.

• The work on the Agni-5 intercontinental ballistic missile project was started over a decade ago and the missile was tested seven times before.

• The first test of the missile was carried out in April 2012 while the previous one was conducted around three years ago. 

• The missile, which uses a three-stage solid-fuelled engine, is capable of striking targets at ranges up to 5,000 kilometres with a very high degree of accuracy.

• The Agni 1 to 4 missiles have ranges from 700 km to 3,500 km and they have already been deployed. The Agni-5 project was aimed at enhancing India’s nuclear deterrence against China.

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