India surprised by Chinese fuss over Agni-V

The Indian defence establishment has been left baffled by a brouhaha being generated in China over the yet-to-be-tested Agni-V ballistic missile.

``It seems quite contrived,'' said a top official.

For one, Agni-V's first test is likely to take place only in end-2010 or early-2011. From there, it will take at least three years before the missile can be dubbed fully-operational since it will require four-five more tests, series production and user-trials by armed forces.

For another, the 5,000-km strike range of Agni-V pales in comparison to already-operational Chinese missiles like Dong Feng-31A, which can hit targets 11,200 km away, or even the JL-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile with a reach beyond 7,200 km.

``China's missile and nuclear arsenal is leagues ahead of India, capable as it is of hitting any city in India. We can never compete. Our entire focus is on building only credible minimum deterrence against China, not active offensive capabilities,'' said the official.

Agni-V, much like the 3,500-km Agni-III, which has been successfully tested a couple of times, has been designed in keeping with this strategy. The already-inducted Prithvi (150-350-km), Agni-I (700-km) and Agni-II (2,000-km) are more Pakistan-specific in nature.

As earlier reported by TOI, the solid-fuelled Agni-V, for which the government has sanctioned around Rs 2,500 crore, will be a canister-launch missile system to ensure it has the requisite operational flexibility to be fired from any part of the country.

The ongoing work on Agni-V basically revolves around incorporating a third composite stage in the two-stage 16.7-metre tall Agni-III, along with some advanced technologies like ring laser gyroscope and accelerator for navigation and guidance.

Though slightly short of true ICBMs, which have ranges in excess of 5,500 km, Agni-Vs will come in special storage-cum-launch canisters, making it much easier to store them for long periods without maintenance as well as to handle and transport.

So, conceivably, Agni-V will be capable of being swiftly moved closer to the border with China to substantially enhance its strike range into the country. What has exercised China is the fact this will bring even its northern-most city, Habin, within the missile's strike envelope.

Moreover, DRDO is also developing MIRV (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles) warheads for the Agni missiles. An MIRV payload basically is a bunch of several nuclear warheads carried on a single missile, which can be programmed to hit different targets separated from each other. Given this, even ballistic missile defence systems can be overwhelmed by MIRVs.

This fits in with India's nuclear doctrine, which holds that even though there will be no first-use, ``nuclear retaliation to a first strike will be massive and designed to inflict unacceptable damage''.