India Gears Up To Test Fire Nuclear-Tipped Agni-V, The ICBM That Can Hit Beijing

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is preparing to test the nuclear-tipped Agni-V missile. Defence establishment sources quoted by Times of India (TOI) said the missile will be test-fired from its truck mounted canister launcher towards December-end or early January.

"There were some minor technical snags in Agni-V, which required tweaking of its internal battery and electronic configurations after its last test in January 2015," a source quoted by the daily said.

The Agni-V is a three-stage solid-fueled intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that has a range of about 5,000 km. The missile gives India the ability to threaten all of China’s major cities with nuclear weapons. China has long boasted ICBMs capable of reaching all of India.

"This will be the final test of the three-stage Agni-V, which will be tested for its full range, before the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) begins its user trials," the source informed TOI. The SFC, responsible for managing India's nuclear arsenal, has decided to conduct two tests of the nuclear-capable missile before it goes in for mass production.