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We are now a major missile power': India stands tall after successful test launch of long-range nuclear 'China killer' rocket
PUBLISHED: 15:56 GMT, 18 April 2012 | UPDATED: 08:36 GMT, 19 April 2012
India announced this morning it had successfully test launched its new nuclear-capable missile which could hit Beijing and China - and beyond.
The country's government hopes the $500million Agni V missile, which was launched at 8.07am Indian time, will turn the nation into Asia's main superpower.
The Agni V missile has a range of 5,000km (3,100 miles), and is seen as key to helping India in its border disputes with China.
Scroll down for video of the launch
Blast off: The Agni V missile bursts into life this morning during its successful test launch
High altitude: Indian Defence officials said the rocket rose to 600km and successfully deposited its payload
Threatening: A new map released shows the nuclear weapon could also reach far into Europe and eastern Africa
A new map released shows the nuclear weapon could also reach far into Europe and eastern Africa. Defence Minister AK Antony said: 'The nation stands tall today.'
Vijay Saraswat, head of India's Defence Research and Development Organisation, said: 'India has emerged from this launch as a major missile power.'
Indian Defence bosses said the weapon rose to an altitude of more than 600km (370 miles), that its three stages worked properly, and that the missile deployed its payload as planned.
The test missile was launched from Wheeler Island off India's east coast.
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It rose on a pillar of flame, trailing billows of smoke behind, before arcing through the sky.
China is far ahead of India in the missile race, with intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching anywhere in the country.
'While China doesn't really consider India any kind of a threat or any kind of a rival, India definitely doesn't think in the same way,' said Rahul Bedi, a defence analyst in New Delhi.
Close: A bird flies perilously near to the missile launch area
Pioneering: Here are the first artist's impression of Agni V, which was seen and tested this morning
C Uday Bhaskar, the former head of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, said: 'At the moment there is a huge assymetry in China's favour.'
After it adds the missile to its arsenal, however, 'India's deterrent profile in the region would be appropriately burnished'.
India already has the capability of hitting anywhere inside arch-rival Pakistan, but has engaged in a splurge of defence spending in recent years to counter the perceived Chinese threat.
The Indian navy took command of a Russian nuclear submarine earlier this year, and India is expected to take delivery of a retrofitted Soviet-built aircraft carrier soon.
The new Agni, named for the Hindi word for fire, is part of this military build-up and was designed to hit deep inside China, Bedi said.
Currently, the longest-range Indian missile, the Agni-III, has a range of only 2,100 miles or 3,500 kilometres and falls short of many major Chinese cities.
India has also been suspicious of Beijing's efforts to increase its influence in the Indian Ocean in recent years and sees the weapons race as a way to fight back.
'It will be a quantum leap in India's strategic capability,' said Ravi Gupta, spokesman for India's Defence research team, which built the missile.
Government officials said the missile should not be seen as a threat.
'We have a declared no-first-use policy, and all our missile systems, they are not country specific. There is no threat to anybody,' Gupta said. 'Our missile systems are purely for deterrence and to meet our security needs.'
The launch window for the missile test, which is being conducted on Wheeler Island off India's east coast, opens Wednesday evening and closes on Friday.
The Agni-V is a solid-fuel, three-stage missile designed to carry a 1.5-ton nuclear warhead. I
It stands 57 feet tall, has a launch weight of 50 tonnes and was built at a reported cost of 25 billion rupees, and will be moved around the vast country by road or rail.
Rival: China has long been able to fire missiles to every Indian city but now they have fought back and could easily strike Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing, pictured
'Agni-V is a game-changer and a technological marvel,' V.K. Saraswat, scientific adviser to the defence minister, told The Hindu newspaper.
The missile could also be used to carry multiple warheads or to launch satellites into orbit.
The planned test comes days after North Korea's failed long-range rocket launch.
North Korea said the rocket was launched to put a satellite into space, but the U.S. and other countries said it was a cover for testing long-range missile technology.
India's launch sparked none of the same global condemnation aimed at Pyongyang, an internationally isolated regime that has been banned by the UN from testing missile technology.
Even if India's test is deemed a success, the missile will need four or five more trials before it can be inducted into India's arsenal at some point in 2014 or 2015, Bedi said.
- Agni V can travel 3,100 miles so could also reach into Europe and Africa
- The launch window for the test, to be conducted off India's east coast, ends on Friday
- Indian Defence chiefs say test launch reached 600km and went as planned
PUBLISHED: 15:56 GMT, 18 April 2012 | UPDATED: 08:36 GMT, 19 April 2012
India announced this morning it had successfully test launched its new nuclear-capable missile which could hit Beijing and China - and beyond.
The country's government hopes the $500million Agni V missile, which was launched at 8.07am Indian time, will turn the nation into Asia's main superpower.
The Agni V missile has a range of 5,000km (3,100 miles), and is seen as key to helping India in its border disputes with China.
Scroll down for video of the launch
Blast off: The Agni V missile bursts into life this morning during its successful test launch High altitude: Indian Defence officials said the rocket rose to 600km and successfully deposited its payload
Threatening: A new map released shows the nuclear weapon could also reach far into Europe and eastern AfricaA new map released shows the nuclear weapon could also reach far into Europe and eastern Africa. Defence Minister AK Antony said: 'The nation stands tall today.'
Vijay Saraswat, head of India's Defence Research and Development Organisation, said: 'India has emerged from this launch as a major missile power.'
Indian Defence bosses said the weapon rose to an altitude of more than 600km (370 miles), that its three stages worked properly, and that the missile deployed its payload as planned.
The test missile was launched from Wheeler Island off India's east coast.
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It rose on a pillar of flame, trailing billows of smoke behind, before arcing through the sky.
China is far ahead of India in the missile race, with intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching anywhere in the country.
'While China doesn't really consider India any kind of a threat or any kind of a rival, India definitely doesn't think in the same way,' said Rahul Bedi, a defence analyst in New Delhi.
Close: A bird flies perilously near to the missile launch area Pioneering: Here are the first artist's impression of Agni V, which was seen and tested this morning
C Uday Bhaskar, the former head of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, said: 'At the moment there is a huge assymetry in China's favour.'
After it adds the missile to its arsenal, however, 'India's deterrent profile in the region would be appropriately burnished'.
India already has the capability of hitting anywhere inside arch-rival Pakistan, but has engaged in a splurge of defence spending in recent years to counter the perceived Chinese threat.
The Indian navy took command of a Russian nuclear submarine earlier this year, and India is expected to take delivery of a retrofitted Soviet-built aircraft carrier soon.
The new Agni, named for the Hindi word for fire, is part of this military build-up and was designed to hit deep inside China, Bedi said.
Currently, the longest-range Indian missile, the Agni-III, has a range of only 2,100 miles or 3,500 kilometres and falls short of many major Chinese cities.
India has also been suspicious of Beijing's efforts to increase its influence in the Indian Ocean in recent years and sees the weapons race as a way to fight back.
'It will be a quantum leap in India's strategic capability,' said Ravi Gupta, spokesman for India's Defence research team, which built the missile.
Government officials said the missile should not be seen as a threat.
'We have a declared no-first-use policy, and all our missile systems, they are not country specific. There is no threat to anybody,' Gupta said. 'Our missile systems are purely for deterrence and to meet our security needs.'
The launch window for the missile test, which is being conducted on Wheeler Island off India's east coast, opens Wednesday evening and closes on Friday.
The Agni-V is a solid-fuel, three-stage missile designed to carry a 1.5-ton nuclear warhead. I
It stands 57 feet tall, has a launch weight of 50 tonnes and was built at a reported cost of 25 billion rupees, and will be moved around the vast country by road or rail.
Rival: China has long been able to fire missiles to every Indian city but now they have fought back and could easily strike Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing, pictured'Agni-V is a game-changer and a technological marvel,' V.K. Saraswat, scientific adviser to the defence minister, told The Hindu newspaper.
The missile could also be used to carry multiple warheads or to launch satellites into orbit.
The planned test comes days after North Korea's failed long-range rocket launch.
North Korea said the rocket was launched to put a satellite into space, but the U.S. and other countries said it was a cover for testing long-range missile technology.
India's launch sparked none of the same global condemnation aimed at Pyongyang, an internationally isolated regime that has been banned by the UN from testing missile technology.
Even if India's test is deemed a success, the missile will need four or five more trials before it can be inducted into India's arsenal at some point in 2014 or 2015, Bedi said.
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