DRDO conducts flight-trial of MIRV system

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted a flight-trial of an Advanced Agni missile with Multiple Independently Targeted Re-Entry Vehicle (MIRV) system from A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha on May 8. 

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

• The missile was flight-tested with multiple payloads, targeted to different targets spatially distributed over a large geographical area in the Indian Ocean Region.

• The telemetry and tracking was carried out by multiple ground and ship-based stations. 

• These systems tracked the entire missile trajectory from lift-off till the impact of all payloads. 

• Flight data confirmed that all mission objectives were met during the trial.

• With this successful trial, India once again demonstrated the capability to target multiple strategic targets using a single missile system. 

• This missile is developed by DRDO laboratories with the support of industries across the country. 

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.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)