Gives India Next Level Deterrence Capability: Top Scientist On Agni-5 MIRV

The Agni-r MIRV missile, developed over 10 years by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, took its first flight today

Agni-5 MIRV, the landmark ballistic weapons system, takes India's second-strike capability to the next level, giving it "higher potency, better influence and denser zone," said Dr V K Saraswat, former Director General of DRDO and currently Member Science and Technology, NITI Aayog, who was deeply involved with its development. The missile, developed over 10 years by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, took its first flight today, placing India in a select group of nations, altering its geopolitic and strategic position and acting as a gamechanger in southeast Asia.

Asked what this weapon would mean for India's nuclear and missile programme, Dr Saraswat told NDTV that as a "force multiplier" it would increase the weapon's "radius of influence".

The new weapon system is based on Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology, which means a single missile can deploy multiple nuclear warheads and hit targets at different locations simultaneously.