Agni-V to be test-fired from canister on Saturday

File photo of DRDO's Agni 5 missile.

Agni-V, India’s most powerful strategic missile, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will lift off on Saturday morning from a canister mounted on a TATRA truck stationed on the Wheeler Island off Odisha.

This is the third launch, but the first from a canister, a method that will allow the missile to be fired even from roads. Avinash Chander, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and DRDO Director-General, has called Agni-V “a game changer.” Mr. Chander, the architect of the Agni series, will be present at the launch scheduled for 8 a.m. He is demitting office the same day.

Agni-V can carry a 1.1-tonne nuclear warhead over 5,000 km.