With the success of 30 missions in the last three months, India plans to deploy nuclear-capable ballistic missile Agni-V this year, reports The New Indian Express.

Once inducted, the Agni-V will prove to be a game changer for India.

The long range of the Agni-V, reported to be around 5,000-8,000 km, enables India to bring all important Chinese cities, including Beijing, under threat.

With this missile inducted, India can respond to a Chinese nuclear attack with massive retaliation, as laid-out in the nuclear doctrine. Thus, the missile will play an important role in establishing the credibility of deterrence viz-à-viz China.

Defence sources told The New Indian Express that Agni-V, which is undergoing its pre-induction trials, would be finally deployed at strategic locations as selected by the armed forces.

The canisterised Agni-V provides the necessary operational flexibility to the forces.

Canisterisation enables a missile to be kept in a state of readiness, makes camouflaging the missile easier and permits rapid launch.

Being placed on a road-mobile launcher, the missile can be moved from one location to another in times of heightened conflict to avoid detection by enemy satellites. This, in turn, increases its survivability in a preemptive counterforce strike.

Agni-V is a solid-fueled missile. Solid-fueled missiles offer the benefit of a quick response and longer storage life. Prearranging a liquid-fueled missile for launch, in comparison, takes more time.

Also, in case of non-use, liquid fuel must be drained out from the missile due to its highly corrosive nature and stored separately. Therefore, it is easy to store and transport a solid-fueled missile.