14 August 2024 – The Indian Express

What is MIRV Technology

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) recently conducted a test of the Agni-5 ballistic missile, code-named “Mission Divyastra,” which is of great strategic significance. With a range of more than 5,000 km, the Agni-5 is the longest-range missile that India has tested to far. But the missile’s importance goes beyond its range; its strength represents a turning point in India’s nuclear deterrence capacity. Its integration with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRVs) enhances this potency even more.

Divyastra’s Mission:

• India’s nuclear capabilities have advanced significantly with the DRDO’s Mission Divyastra launch.
• It is the first-ever flight test of the nuclear missile, Agni-5, created in the country. It has a range of 5,000 kilometres and is equipped with MIRV technology.
• Operation Divyastra, the flying test, was conducted from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.
• This technology allows the missile to launch numerous warheads, possibly with decoys to fool opposing ballistic missile defences, to different or identical sites in a single launch.

MIRV Technology: What Is It?

• The United States launched the first MIRVed Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) in 1970, marking the beginning of MIRV technology.
• With MIRV, a single missile can carry up to four warheads (4-6), each of which can target a separate place on its own.
• By expanding the number of possible targets the missile can engage, MIRV technology increases the missile’s effectiveness.
• MIRVs have increased operational flexibility and range due to their ability to be fired from both land-based and sea-based platforms, including submarinees.

Adoption & Proliferation Worldwide:

• Major nuclear powers like the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and India are among the nations that possess MIRV technology. In 2017, Pakistan conducted an Ababeel Missile test.
• The MIRV technology, which attempts to launch several warheads at various sites, was tested for the first time in India with the Agni-5 test flight.
• The re-entry vehicles were able to reach the target points with the appropriate accuracy because the Agni-5 weapon system is outfitted with high-accuracy sensor packages and native avionics systems.

What Role Does MIRV Technology Play?

Satellite Launch and Orbit:

• In order to launch a single rocket that would orbit several satellites, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) uses workhorse rockets to test and refine MIRV technology for commercial launches.

Numerous options for the attacker to target:

• Launching a missile with a MIRV tip, such as an Agni-IV or Agni-V, has a number of tactical and strategic benefits. It gives the attacker additional possibilities for targets.
• The defender’s anti-missile defences may be overpowered as a result of having to defend every one of them at once. MIRVed missiles have the ability to discharge their warheads in a variety of directions and at varying speeds.

Extended Range of Operation:

• With MIRV technology, the Agni-V missile has a modified nose cone that can hold multiple warheads. The missile’s weight was decreased by swapping out heavier, older subsystems for lighter, more dependable ones, including lightweight composite material components, in order to preserve its 5000–5500 KM target range.
• By using lighter components, switching from hydraulic to electro-mechanical actuators decreases weight and solves problems like oil storage, leakage, and the requirement for an accumulator. Electro-mechanical actuators are also easier to maintain and more dependable.

Ballistic Missile Avoidance:

• Because MIRV-equipped missiles can target many targets at once and are adept at getting beyond ballistic missile defences, they are considered necessary.
• China’s development of ballistic missile defences, such as the tested HQ-19 ground-based interceptors, highlights this need even more.
• It is anticipated that the HQ-19s will be able to intercept initial Agni Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs), especially if they are designed to carry a single warhead.
• Greater equilibrium has been restored in the nuclear deterrent relationship between China and India when India integrated the Agni-5 with multiple warheads.

Which are the Various Obstacles to the Acceptance of MIRV Technology?

Driving Opponents To Take On More Aggressive Positions:

• From a strategic standpoint, the benefits are not as clear. The dual nature of possessing MIRV missiles is a topic of much debate and solid evidence in strategic circles.
• On the one hand, MIRVs appear to provide more deterrence. In contrast, they force adversaries to take on more assertive nuclear stances in an effort to offset this advantage. Therefore, MIRVs may likewise raise the likelihood of a nuclear war and raise security vulnerabilities.

Additional Fissile Material Needed:

• The additional fissile material (mostly plutonium) needed for the new MIRV rockets is a more significant issue. A minor amount of waste plutonium from its power plants and a scarcity of plutonium from its BARC Dhruva reactor already pose constraints for India.

Extremely Strict Technical Requirements:

• The high technical requirements for developing ballistic missiles with MIRV capability present considerable hurdles. Nuclear warheads must be made smaller, warhead receptacles must be lightweight, and re-entry vehicles must be precisely configured and separated from the Post Boost Vehicle (PBV), which needs to be maneuverable.

• The mystery surrounding this MIRV missile pertains to how many warheads it is capable of carrying, which is probably going to stay under wraps. It is unlikely that it can carry more than three warheads, based on conjecture.
• Furthermore, India has only carried out a restricted number of atomic tests, which is expected to limit the yield of nuclear warheads. Furthermore, it’s uncertain if the Agni-5 can carry chaff and decoys, particularly in the missile’s boost and intermediate phases of flight.

What Actions Must Be Done to Advance MIVR Technology?

Increasing the Significance of India’s Nuclear Arsenal:

• The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), which is directly in charge of nuclear device core research and development (R&D), and the Atomic Energy Commission of India (AEC) in particular have done a good job of designing nuclear warheads that are sufficiently compact for MIRV capability.
• With India bolstering its nuclear arsenal with the test of a long-range Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM), which its nuclear ballistic missile submarines equipped with MIRVs can fire, additional work needs to be done by the DRDO and AEC.

Sustaining MIRV Missile Guidance and Accuracy:

• Since re-entry vehicles must spin stabilise during atmospheric re-entry, guidance and accuracy are essential. A missile based on MIRV technology can only hit several targets that fall inside its range. India needs to properly achieve these high technical requirements with the next tests.
• The development of MIRVs is especially important in India because of the tremendous obstacles that the nation’s nuclear and missile engineers must overcome. Not only will MIRV missiles increase the striking range to 10,000 km, but they will also improve navigation and accuracy.

Providing Sufficient Nuclear Testing:

• India’s ability to miniaturise warheads and MIRV them to strike multiple targets was hampered by insufficient nuclear testing.
• The degree to which the re-entry vehicles could have been built to carry the warheads was also called into question by insufficient testing. As a result, sufficient testing is necessary to create a fully functional technology.

International Accords:

• Assuage concerns around the world by drafting agreements and conventions to regulate the development and application of MIRV technology.
• In light of growing worries and threats from China, this includes looking into options other than the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and Wassenaar Arrangement for obtaining fissile materials from allies.

• An important turning point in India’s nuclear deterrence capability has been reached with the successful testing of the Agni-5 ballistic missile with MIRVs. India’s strategic position is strengthened by this breakthrough, especially in light of the growing threats presented by China’s nuclear and missile programmes. The accomplishment also highlights India’s technological capability and ability to bounce back from setbacks. India’s status as a reliable nuclear power would be further cemented by its ongoing missile technological developments, which may lead to the construction of a long-range Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM).