India has successfully test-fired an Advanced Agni missile with the strategic ability to deploy multiple payloads to separate targets simultaneously -- a milestone that places the country among a select league of global powers.
The testing of the missile with Multiple Independently Targeted Re-Entry Vehicle (MIRV) system was carried out from Odisha's APJ Abdul Kalam Island on Friday, according to the defence ministry.
The MIRV feature ensures that a single missile can deploy multiple war heads at different locations simultaneously.
While the ministry said the flight test of an advanced Agni missile with MIRV was carried out, authoritative sources said it was an Agni-5 missile and the trial was conducted to check the MIRV technology under 'Mission Divyastra' .
The maiden trial of the Agni-5 with MIRV was carried out in March last year.
"India conducted the successful flight-trial of an advanced Agni missile with Multiple Independently Targeted Re-Entry Vehicle (MIRV) system from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha on May 8," the defence ministry said.
"The missile was flight-tested with multiple payloads, targeted to different targets spatially distributed over a large geographical area in the Indian Ocean Region," it said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has complimented the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian Army, and the concerned industry partners on the successful flight-test of the missile.
This will add an incredible capability to the country's defence preparedness against the growing threat perceptions, he said.
The ministry said the telemetry and tracking was carried out by multiple ground and ship-based stations.
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
