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| Agni - V, India's longest range ballastic missile, is loaded on to the road mobile launcher. Photo: V.V. Krishnan |
The stage is set for the first developmental flight
test of Agni-V, India’s most potent strategic missile with a range of
5,000 km, from Wheeler Island, off the Odisha Coast this evening.
The
three-stage, solid propelled missile was taken to the launch pad in the
early morning to conduct range readiness checks. It was later shifted
to another shelter and the vehicle will be brought back to the launch
pad a few hours before the launch.
The Flight
Readiness Review meeting and Launch Authorisation Board are scheduled to
meet later in the day to give the final nod for the launch of the
missile at around 19.00 hrs. The tiny Wheeler Island has been a beehive
of activity for more than 20 days with a few hundred missile
technologists and scientists working at frenetic pace for meeting the
scheduled deadline.
The success of the mission will
propel India into the club of nations possessing technologies for
developing Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), although Agni-V
is of the class of an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM).
Agni-V’s range could be further enhanced to become an ICBM to meet the
country’s strategic requirements.
V.K. Saraswat,
Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and Avinash Chander, Chief
Controller (Missiles and Strategic Systems), DRDO have described Agni-V
as a game-changer and asserted that it would significantly enhance the
country’s strategic Defence capability.
The 17-metre
tall missile weighs 50 tonnes and is capable of carrying a nuclear
warhead with a 1.1 tonne payload. However, the missile will carry a
dummy payload in this developmental flight.
Source : The Hindu
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