SSB GD Series: Is India’s Agni 5 Enough?

Critical analysis of the Indian missile and comparison with peer nations

With the development of Agni 5, India joined the club of nations which possessed Inter continental Ballistic Missiles. The Agni 5 is the latest missile in the Agni series and is stated to have a strike range of 5000 Km. However analysis by the Chinese state that the missile is capable of hitting targets at distances greater than 8000 Km. The missile is developed indigenous and is developed under the original Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. Lets look at the features of the missile, which makes it stand out from other missiles of the Agni series and what India needs to keep in mind if it plans to counter its counterparts.

Features:

•   The Agni 5 is an upgrade of the previous versions of the missiles of the same series and is a three stage solid fueled missile with composite motor casing in the second and the third stage.
•   The Agni 5 missile is canisterised, meaning to say that it can be launched from roadside, the canister is able to preserve the missile for years and can take the pressure from the lift off of the missile
•   An advanced version of Agni 5 is expected to use the Multiple Independent Re-Entry Vehicles (MIRVs), the multiple missiles which will comprise the Agni 5 would themselves be carrying nuclear war heads, each individual missile could be used to destroy targets hundreds of kilometers apart, also two or more can be used to target one target alone, thus increasing the impact of the attack.
•   The officially stated strike range of the missile is 5500 – 5800 km, but analysis by the Chinese estimates it to be of 8000+ KM strike range.
•   The DRDO built nuclear missile weighs 40 ton and is capable of carrying warhead weighing 1000 Kg.

With the development of this missile India indeed has joined ballistic missile club, but this missile is still no match with the other powers of the world. Whereas first introduced in service in 2014 the Agni 5 can carry a warhead of 1000 kg to a strike range of 8000+ kilometers(estimate) the 2006 built Chinese DongFeng 31A has a strike range of 11,200 km. The PLA of China has introduced 10 such missiles, something which the Indian Armed forces should be concerned about. The story doesn't end here, extending the warhead capacity and strike range China has developed the DongFeng 5A (DF – 5A) which can destroy targets 13000 km away. The nuclear capable DF 5A also carries a warhead of 3000 to 3200 kg and also uses 6 MIRVs. The Chinese are further developing the DF-41 which is estimated to have a strike range of 12000 – 15000 km and is being developed to carry up to 10 MIRVs. India’s worries don’t end here; with rumors that Pakistan possesses the Taimur missile which has a strike range of 5000 to 9000 Km, India needs to be on its toes to beat this situation at hand. Also with Pakistan getting a one billion dollar defense deal from US the situation has become graver for India.

In my opinion the missile program of India needs to be taken very seriously, DRDO need to develop things at a faster rate, if indigenous development and limited technology is barring the strike range and warhead capacity, collaborations with other nations can be made. The top priority at this moment should be to strengthen our missile program, by collaborating with other developed countries not only would we get exposure to the advanced technologies used by them, our brilliant minds can use that technology to enhance our missile systems as well. If it comes to war, the Agni 5 alone is not sufficient to handle the DF series of missiles developed by the Chinese. We need to take action and strengthen our defense system so that our counterparts think twice before attempting anything against us.

About the Author: Shekhar Tanwar is a computer science engineer who is working with a renowned MNC and is a die heart defense aspirant. Guitar is his passion and he is very firm believer of physical fitness. This article is a way to help defense aspirants to present his critical views on the topic, on the forum so that collective exchange of thoughts can take place.