Agni-V testfired

India's first intercontinental ballistic missile has become deadlier. The over 5,000-km Agni-V was on Saturday successfully tested for the first time in its canister launch version, which will give the armed forces the requisite operational flexibility to swiftly transport and fire the ballistic missile from anywhere they want.
“It's a game changer...a new milestone, a giant leap in our strategic deterrence. With the canister version, our soldiers can stop and launch it even from a roadside,“ said DRDO chief Avinash Chander, said from Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast following the test.
The canister test was also a swansong for the 64 year-old Chander, who later in the day demitted office as DRDO chief in line with his contract being abruptly terminated by the Modi government earlier this month. The country's most formidable nuclear missile till now, since it brings the whole of China and much more within its strike envelope, the three-stage Agni-V was earlier tested in “an open configuration“ in April 2012 and September 2013. The third test on Saturday was from a hermeticallysealed canister mounted on a Tatra launcher truck in “a deliverable configuration“.
The missile vertically blasted off at 8.09 am, zoomed to a height of over 600-km in its parabolic trajectory and then splashed down into the Indian Ocean towards Australia 20 minutes later.
The road mobile canisterversion ensures the 50-tonne missile can be fired within minutes. “With India having a policy of no first use of nuclear weapons, it is highly survivable,“ Chander said.