According to the
Ministry of Defence, different telemetry, radar, electro-optical stations, and
downrange ships stationed along the eastern coast observed and monitored the
missile trajectory and data.
Agni-P or Agni-Prime
(Agnī “Fire”) is a medium-range ballistic missile that is the successor for
Agni-I and Agni-II missiles in the operational service of Strategic Forces
Command with significant upgrades in the form of the composite motor casing,
manoeuvrable re-entry vehicle (MaRV) along with improved propellants,
navigation and guidance systems.
It is the Agni series’
sixth ballistic missile. Agni Prime can be transported by train or stored in a
canister. A road-mobile truck can also transport the missile. The missile was
said to have been tested more than seven times before being put through user
testing with the Indian Army. The Defence Ministry stated in an official
statement that “Agni-5 is capable of attacking targets at ranges up to 5,000
kilometres with a very high degree of accuracy.”
Previously, India
tested the Agni Prime variant of the series, the nuclear arsenal’s
next-generation nuclear-capable ballistic missile. While the Agni Prime and the
rest of the Agni series are mostly focused on the Asian subcontinent, the
Agni-V has a much greater potential to strike the adversary.
In an official
statement issued in 2018, DRDO stated that Agni-V is constructed in such a way
that after reaching the apex of its trajectory, the missile will turn towards
Earth to continue its journey towards the targeted target at a faster rate due
to the attraction of the Earth’s gravitational pull.