Night trials of Ballistic Missile Agni V

  • 29 Dec 2022

On December 15, 2022, India has successfully conducted night trials of nuclear-capable ballistic missile Agni V.


  • The missile is capable of striking targets at ranges up to 5,000 kilometers with very high degree of accuracy.
  • The missile test firing was conducted from APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast at around 5.30 pm.

About Agni Missiles

  • The Agni missile class is the backbone of India's nuclear launch capability, as are Prithvi short-range ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and fighter aircraft.
  • Agni-1 to 5 missiles are designed & developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
  • Other Ranges of Agni Missiles:
    • Agni I: Range of 700-800 km.
    • Agni II: Range more than 2000 km.
    • Agni III: Range of more than 2,500 Km
    • Agni IV: Range is more than 3,500 km and can fire from a road mobile launcher.
    • Agni-V: The longest of the Agni series, an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a range of over 5,000 km.
  • Agni-5 is an ingeniously built advanced surface-to-surface ballistic missile developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).
  • It is a fire-and-forget missile, which cannot be stopped without an interceptor missile.
  • The missile has the capability of hitting targets beyond the range of 5000 km and is crucial for India's self-defense systems.

The Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) was launched in 1982-83 by the Indian Government which saw the projects of:

  • Prithvi (Short range surface to surface missile)
  • Trishul (short range surface to air missile)
  • Aakash (Medium range surface to air missile)
  • Nag (Third generation anti-tank missile)
  • Agni-I (Agni missile was later separated from the IGMDP due to its strategic importance)