India test fires Agni V ballistic missile capable of hitting targets beyond 5,400 km amid tensions with China

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By  India Blooms News Service   Dec 16, 2022

New Delhi/IBNS: India has successfully carried out night trials of the Agni V nuclear-capable ballistic missile which can hit targets beyond 5,400 km, media reports said quoting sources in the Defence Ministry said on Thursday.

The trials were carried out amid escalated tensions with China over clashes along the de facto border in Arunachal Pradesh last week.

The test was carried out to validate new technologies and equipment on the missile.

The same has proved that the missile can now hit targets further away than before, Defence Ministry sources told the media.

The trial has also proved the capability to enhance the range of the missile if required.

The nuclear-capable ballistic missile was fired from Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha. This is the ninth flight of the Agni V, a missile first tested in 2012.

Thursdays firing was a routine test, Defence Ministry sources said.

While the test was carried out days after the clashes, it had been planned earlier.

India had announced its intention to test a long-range missile and issued a NOTAM or Notice to Airmen well before the incident in Arunachals Tawang.