India successfully test-fires ‘Agni 5’ ballistic missile

New Delhi: India on Wednesday successfully test-fired the ‘Agni 5’ intermediate range ballistic missile, in a demonstration of its strategic military capabilities.

The defence ministry said the test-firing of the missile from the Integrated Test Range in Odisha’s Chandipur validated all operational and technical parameters.

“Intermediate range ballistic missile ‘Agni 5’ was successfully test-fired from the integrated test range, Chandipur in Odisha on August 20,” it said in a brief statement.

“The launch validated all operational and technical parameters. It was carried out under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command,” it said.

In its last trial of Agni 5 from the same test range on March 11, 2024, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had conducted a successful test using multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) technology, defence sources said.

Various telemetry and radar stations tracked and monitored multiple re-entry vehicles. The mission accomplished the designed parameters, they said.

India first successfully tested the Agni 5 missile on April 19, 2012 from the integrated test range in Chandipur, launching it to a designated point in the Indian Ocean.

The missile traversed over 5,000 km, reaching a maximum altitude of 600 km.