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With China in mind, India tests new-generation Agni missile with high kill efficiency

NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday successfully tested a new-generation Agni missile with a strike range of 3,500 km and souped-up kill efficiency, prompting excited defence scientists to proclaim it would add fantastic deterrence to the countrys nuclear weapons programme. The test of the most advanced surface-to-surface missile called Agni-IV also launched the countdown for India to test its most ambitious strategic missile Agni-V, which will have near ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) capabilities with an over 5,000-km range, in December-January. This test has paved the way for the success of Agni-V mission, which will be launched shortly, said DRDOs chief controller (missiles and strategic systems) Avinash Chander. Incidentally, the project director for Agni-IV is none other than Tessy Thomas, the 48-year-old DRDO scientist who has made a mark for herself in the avowedly male bastion of strategic missiles, as reported by TOI earlier. The Agni-IV, which failed in its earlier avtaar as Agni-II-Prime in December 2010, incorporates many new technologies in navigation, propulsion, avionics and other areas to represent a quantum leap in missile technology for India. Having inducted the Pakistan-specific Agni-I (700-km) and Agni-II (over 2,000-km) missiles, the armed forces are now in the process of operationalising the 3,500-km Agni-III after completion of its developmental and pre-induction trials last year. Pakistan, of course, remains slightly ahead of India in its missile arsenal, given the covert help it has got from North Korea and China for its Ghauri and Shaheen family of missiles. The two-stage Agni-IV and three-stage Agni-V, in turn, are meant to add some much-needed credible deterrence muscle against China, which has a massive nuclear arsenal with missiles like the 11,200-km Dong Feng-31A capable of hitting any Indian city. The canister-launch Agni-V, with its high road mobility and fast-reaction ability, in particular, is being talked about as a small but sharp riposte to China.

                                                                                                               
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