India Carries Out First User Trial of Nuclear-capable Agni-V ICBM

India has test-fired nuclear-capable Agni-V Inter-continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a strike range of over 5,000 km from the integrated test range (ITR) at the Abdul Kalam island off the Odisha coast on Thursday.

The ICBM developed by state-run Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO) is capable of carrying nuclear or traditional warhead of about 1.5 tonnes.

This was the first user-trial. India has already conducted four trails; two from mobile launcher and two from canister successfully. Agni-V surface-to-surface ballistic missile has an advanced ring-laser gyros, composite rocket motors and highly accurate micro-navigation systems and inertial navigation systems.

The three-stage, 17-metre tall, two-metre wide Agni-V, is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead of about 1.5 tonnes. Weighing around 50 tonnes, it incorporates accelerometer for navigation and guidance and its accuracy level is far higher than its three earlier variants - Agni-II, Agni-III and Agni-IV.