New Delhi: India on Wednesday successfully launched Surface to Surface Ballistic Missile, Agni-5 from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha, the Ministry of Defence informed on Wednesday.

The missile, which uses a three-stage solid-fuelled engine, is capable of striking targets at ranges up to 5,000 kilometres

The missile, which uses a three-stage solid-fuelled engine, is capable of striking targets at ranges up to 5,000 kilometres with a very high degree of accuracy.

“A successful launch of the Surface to Surface Ballistic Missile, Agni-5, was carried out on October 27 at approximately 1950 hrs from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha,” the ministry said.

The successful test of Agni-5 is in line with India’s stated policy to have ‘credible minimum deterrence’ that underpins the commitment to ‘No First Use’.

The indigenously-developed surface-to-surface missile, Agni-5, is capable of striking a target more than 5,000 km. It is about 17-metre long, 2-metre wide and has launch weight of around 50 tonnes. The missile can carry a nuclear warhead of more than one tonne.

Unlike other missiles of Agni series, the latest one ‘Agni-5’ is the most advanced having some new technologies incorporated with it in terms of navigation and guidance, warhead and engine.

The high-speed on board computer and fault tolerant software along with robust and reliable bus guided the missile flawlessly, an official said