Agni-V

Agni-V is a three-stage, solid-fuelled, surface-to-surface intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) lineage initiated by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. With a declared range exceeding 5,000 km — credibly assessed by analysts at 5,500–8,000 km — it brings the entirety of China and parts of Europe and Africa within strike reach, making India one of a small group of states (the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom) possessing ICBM capability. It was first flight-tested on 19 April 2012 from Wheeler Island (now Dr. Abdul Kalam Island) off the Odisha coast, and underwent its maiden user trial by the Strategic Forces Command in December 2018.

Technically, Agni-V is canisterised, meaning the missile is sealed and transported within a hermetic launch canister mounted on a Tractor-Erector-Launcher (TEL), enabling road-mobile deployment, rapid reaction, longer storage life and reduced detectability — features essential to a survivable second-strike posture under India's declared "No First Use" (NFU) nuclear doctrine of 2003. It uses a solid-propellant motor, ring-laser-gyroscope inertial navigation, micro-navigation systems and can carry a nuclear warhead of approximately 1,000–1,500 kg. The most significant qualitative leap came on 11 March 2024, when DRDO announced the successful flight test of Mission Divyastra, demonstrating Multiple Independently targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology, allowing a single missile to deliver several warheads to different targets — a capability that complicates adversary missile defence.

Agni-V anchors the land-based leg of India's nuclear triad, complementing the K-series Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs) aboard Arihant-class submarines and air-delivered weapons. As of 2026 it has been inducted into the Strategic Forces Command, and DRDO is reportedly developing variants with extended range and improved penetration aids; a bunker-buster conventional variant of the Agni-V family has also been reported in development. The programme reinforces India's strategic autonomy and credible minimum deterrence, while India remains outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a de facto nuclear-weapon state since the Pokhran-II tests of May 1998.

For the UPSC examination, Agni-V is tested in the General Studies Paper III "Science and Technology" and "Internal/External Security" segments, and frequently appears in Prelims as factual MCQs on range, fuel type, canisterisation and MIRV capability. Mains questions typically ask candidates to evaluate Agni-V's role in credible minimum deterrence, its relationship to the No First Use doctrine and the nuclear triad, and its implications for India-China strategic balance. Candidates should distinguish the Agni series tiers (Agni-I through Agni-V and Agni-Prime), correctly associate Mission Divyastra (2024) with MIRV technology, and link the system to the indigenous defence and "Atmanirbhar Bharat" narrative often probed in essay and interview rounds.