Mission Divyastra: What is MIRV technology, what does this mean for India?

Mission Divyastra: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today congratulated India’s Defence Research Development Organization (DRRO) for successfully testing indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology. “Proud of our DRDO scientists for Mission Divyastra, the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology,” PM Modi wrote in his message.

With this development, India has become a part of the elite group of countries that have access to the MIRV technology. As of now, five countries besides India have access to MIRV technology. The list includes China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Proud of our DRDO scientists for Mission Divyastra, the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology.

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What is MIRV technology and why is it important?

MIRV stands for Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle. This technology ensures that a single missile can be used to deploy multiple warheads at different locations with precision. In this case, India’s indigenously developed Agni V missile can be used to carry multiple warheads that can be used to target different locations independently.

As per reports, the system developed by DRDO uses indigenously developed avionics systems and high-accuracy sensor packages, which ensure that the re-entering warheads reach the target within the desired accuracy.

The benefits of having MIRV lies in the fact that a single missile can be used to target multiple locations. Missiles deployed this way also deliver greater damage to the target. That said, deployment of missiles using MIRV technology is also more complicated than deploying regular missiles as the missiles need to be minaturised and highly accurate guiding system need to be used for higher precision.

Agni V missile and MIRV technology

Agni V missile is a nuclear capable intercontinental ballistic missile ICBM developed by DRDO. It has a range of around 7,000 kilometers. As per reports, Agno V powered by MIRV technology can be used to target locations that are hundreds of kilometers apart. Nuclear warheads can also be delivered this way.