The Agni family of missiles

• The family of Agni surface-to-surface ballistic missiles forms the mainstay of India's strategic defence capability to meet various threats.
• All Agni missiles are propelled by solid fuel and can carry nuclear warheads.
• As these missiles use solid propellants and can therefore be launched at short notice.
• They are also carried on mobile launchers, making it more difficult for an enemy to locate and destroy them.
• The first in the series was Agni-II with a range of 2,500 km, followed by Agni-I (700 km), Agni-III (3,000 km), Agni-IV (3,500 km) and Agni-V (5,000 km) now.
• Agni-I, Agni-II and Agni-III have been inducted into the Army.
• Agni-I (700 km) is a single-stage missile, which is 15-metre tall and weighs 12 tonnes. It is Pakistan-specific, and was built in a record 18 months after the Kargil conflict.
• Agni-II with a range of 2,500 km is a two-stage missile, 20-metre-long and weighs 17 tonnes.
• Agni-III  (3,000 km) is also a two-stage missile, which is 17 metres long and weighs 50 tonnes.
• The first development trial of Agni-IV, which has a strike range of more than 3,500 km, took place on November 15, 2011. It is not yet inducted into the Army.

Strategic significance

• With India's policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons, Agni-V will provide the country with depth in deterrence.
• Agni-V, with its long range, will bring the whole of China as well as other regions under its strike envelope. Even though India cannot match China in terms of its vast nuclear and missile arsenals, missiles like Agni-V and the 3,500-km Agni-IV, tested in November 2011, will certainly add strength to its credible minimum nuclear deterrence posture.
• With a canister-launch system to impart higher road mobility, the missile will give the armed forces much greater operational flexibility than the earlier-generation of Agni missiles.
• The accuracy levels of Agni-V and Agni-IV, with their better guidance and navigation systems, are far higher than Agni-I (700-km), Agni-II (2,000-km) and Agni-III (3,000-km). This feature enables precision strikes with minimal collateral damage.
• The Agni missiles will get even more effective once MIRV (Multiple Independently Targetable Re-Entry Vehicles) payloads for them are developed. An MIRV payload on a missile carries several nuclear warheads, which can be programmed to hit different targets. A flurry of such missiles can hence completely overwhelm BMD (Ballistic Missile Defence) systems.
• Agni-V can perform different roles, from carrying multiple warheads to providing anti-satellite capability and even launching tiny satellites into orbit. 
• Agni V, India's most powerful long-range ballistic missile, also established the superb R&D capabilities of the Defence Research & Development Organisation.