India on Monday carried out maiden flight take a look at of the indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with the Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) know-how which permits the weapon system to sort out a number of nuclear warheads, strengthening the nation’s strategic deterrence functionality.

The missile launch carried out below Mission Divyastra (divine weapon), made India’s entry into the elite record of the international locations which have the aptitude to deploy MIRV missile techniques, together with the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and defence minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the profitable take a look at.

“Proud of our DRDO scientists for Mission Divyastra, the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology,” PM Modi mentioned on ‘X’.

What is MIRV know-how?

The take a look at flight of Agni-5, marked the primary time that the MIRV know-how was examined, which goals to deploy a number of warheads at completely different places in a single launch. The Agni-5 weapon system is provided with indigenous avionics techniques and high-accuracy sensor packages, which ensured that the re-entry automobiles reached the goal factors throughout the desired accuracy.

Multiple Independently-targetable Reentry Vehicles (MIRVs) had been initially developed within the early Sixties to permit a single missile to hold a number of nuclear warheads, every able to putting completely different targets independently, not like conventional missiles, in accordance with The Centre for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

The inception of MIRV know-how was performed by the United States with deploying a MIRVed Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) in 1970 and a MIRVed Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) in 1971.

The United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and India are among the many nations that possess the MIRV know-how. Pakistan can also be on the trail to creating MIRV capabilities, In January 2017, it reportedly examined a MIRVed missile, the Ababeel.

Although MIRVs weren’t initially made to defeat ballistic missile defences, they’re much tougher to defend in opposition to than conventional missiles.

However, deploying MIRV know-how additionally poses complicated challenges, together with miniaturisation of warheads, improvement of superior steering techniques, and guaranteeing the reliability of particular person re-entry automobiles, as per the report by TOI.