NEW DELHI: Nuclear-capable Agni-4 medium-range ballistic missile — whose user trial was successfully conducted by Strategic Force Command from Chandipur off Odisha coast last Thursday — is important for India as it bridges a crucial gap between mid-range and intercontinental missile variants, securing credible deterrence under the country’s no-first-use nuclear doctrine.With a range of 4,000 km, Agni-4 sits perfectly between the 2,000-km Agni-II/Agni-Prime and 5,000+ km Agni-V, and covers regional strategic targets easily. Developed by DRDO, Agni-4 is capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional payloads and acts as a major pillar of India’s nuclear triad.The medium-range missile provides India with a strategic deterrence as it is capable of reaching deep into major strategic centres across nearly all of mainland China and also covers parts of Southeast Asia, West Asia and Central Asia.On its successful test, defence minister Rajnath Singh said, “I congratulate SFC and DRDO for this textbook mission launch which reaffirmed India’s commitment to defend the nation with state-of-the-art technologies.”With a two-stage solid-propellant system, Agni-4 has the capability to carry a 1,000-kg payload, and can be launched from a mobile tandem launcher, allowing for rapid deployment and high survivability against pre-emptive strikes.What makes the missile unique is that it has an advanced re-entry heat shield engineered to withstand extreme exterior skin temperatures of more than 3,000°C, while ensuring internal electronic systems and avionics remain fully operational below 50°C.It uses an advanced guidance system and moving nozzles to keep the missile on the correct path and hit its target with high accuracy. The ballistic missile is accurate to less than 100 metres circular error probable (CEP).A CEP of less than 100 m over a 4,000-km flight path means Agni-4 delivers high-precision pin-point accuracy, minimising deviation despite extreme long-range travel. It employs an inertial guidance system with ring laser gyroscopes and flexseal thrust vectoring systems to control its orientation in flight and ensure high-precision targeting.According to the defence ministry, the missile system is equipped with modern and compact avionics with redundancy to provide a high level of reliability.
