Agni-V To Be Tested In Operational Configuration In October, MIRVed Missile Will Take Another Two Years: Report

India will conduct the first user trial of the Agni-V intercontinental-range ballistic missile (ICBM) in October, a Times of India report said.

The test will be conducted in full operational configuration.

Earlier, a New Indian Express report had revealed that the missile was to be tested in September. An area warning issued by India for a 3,000 km-long-zone in the Indian Ocean for the launch of an experimental flight vehicle also suggested that the launch was planned for 23-24 September.

The report had also stated that the missile would be test-fired with multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles or MIRV technology. However, the new report on the Agni-V launch says "it will take another two years for a MIRVed missile to be flight-tested".

The Times of India report also dismissed the claim that the Agni-P missile test-fired in June this year had a MIRVed warhead, saying that the test of the "highly-miniaturised" missile "included decoys".

Multiple Independently Targetable Re-Entry Vehicles Or MIRV

Developed in the early 1960s, MIRVs allow a missile to deliver multiple nuclear warheads to different targets. While traditional missiles can carry one warhead, an MIRVed one can carry multiple warheads.

"Warheads on MIRVed missiles can be released from the missile at different speeds and in different directions. Some MIRVed missiles can hit targets as far as 1,500 kilometres apart," a factsheet on the website of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation says, adding, "It requires the combination of large missiles, small warheads, accurate guidance, and a complex mechanism for releasing warheads sequentially during flight."

While the US, Russia, France, the UK and China use MIRV technology, Pakistan reportedly tested it in January 2017 onboard its Ababeel medium-range ballistic missile, which has a reported range of 2,200 km.

Pakistan Army's claim that the Ababeel missile uses MIRV technology remains unverified and has been a point of debate among experts.