DRDO to test canister-fired Agni-V long-range missile on 31 January

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), will launch a canister-fired version of the 5,000 km-plus Agni-V long-range ballistic missile on 31 January.

The missile will be launch from a canister mounted on a road-mobile launcher, which is a TATRA truck, from the Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast.

Incidentally, 31 January will also see DRDO chief Avinash Chander, who is credited with developing the Agni series of missiles, demiting office after the Mode government terminated his contract.

DRDO officials, however, said the launch date was planned much ahead of the government decision to terminate the DRDO chief's service.

The missile was earlier scheduled to be test-fired in the second week of January but was postponed to the last week of January or the first week of February due to ''non-technical'' reasons.

Agni-V which is about 17 meter long and 2 metres wide with launch weight of around 50 tonnes, is capable of striking a range of more than 5 000 km.

Unlike other indigenously built Agni series missiles, the 'Agni-V' incorporates some of the most advanced technologies in terms of navigation and guidance, warhead and engine.

DRDO will use a gas generator to push the 17-metre long Agni-V missile from the bottom of the canister. The missile can carry a nuclear warhead weighing 1.1 tonnes and strike targets situated over 5,000 km away. In the 31 January launch, it will carry a dummy payload.

A successful canister launch will be a big boost to the Army as the missile will get greater mobility and flexibility.