Agni V is not only about range When India test-fired its Agni V missile for the second time on Sunday, the buzz, predictably, was about how far it can fly and which all cities around the world can now be targeted. For a nation obsessed with numbers, the 5,000 km plus range of the nuclear capable missile has somehow become a convoluted symbol of India’s ‘global position’. In reality, the challenge for India’s missile programme lies much farther ahead of the range it can achieve, scientists after all have sent a mission to the moon. As India’s top missile scientist and head of the DRDO Avinash Chander puts it, give scientists a number and two years of time and anything can be achieved. The challenge lies in proving technology of such strategic nature at a different level — gaining the trust of the users, the Strategic Forces Command, that a foolproof system will not fail in the time of need. While four more tests will be carried out before formal induction of the serial produced variant in two years, a critical factor will be ensuring the quality of production — a sore issue that has plagued not just missiles but most indigenous military systems. An even bigger challenge that remains is fine-tuning the technology to meet the requirements of a modern and dynamic battlefield. The Agni V has a designed precision of landing within a 100 metre of the intended target (CEP). This needs to be brought down to 10-15 metre. Though nuclear missiles can afford to be a bit off the target, it must not be forgotten that the Agni series also have a conventional role. A military mind would appreciate how far the capability of precisely hitting a hardened target at long range with a conventional warhead can be exploited. Last but not the least, is the development of MIRVs (Multiple Independently targetable Re-entry Vehicle) — a single ballistic missile carrying multiple warheads — that are needed to defeat modern missile defence systems. Unfortunately, while DRDO has been working on this technology and has even fabricated certain modules to facilitate future tests, a decision has not yet been taken to initiate a formal MIRV missile programme.
Posted on: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 14:57:37 +0000
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