India recently issued a NOTAM notice declaring the Bay of Bengal a no-fly zone ahead of another Agni-V ballistic missile test scheduled for December 15-16 from Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.
The development comes amid the reported movement of a Chinese research vessel in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). According to data collected by the Norwegian company Maritime Optima, as reported by ThePrint, Yuan Wang 5 re-entered the Indian Ocean region. The report stated that the Yuan Wang 5 was currently southbound in the Indian Ocean off the coast of the Indonesian island of Java.
Agni V is India’s long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile, capable of hitting a target 5,000 kilometres away with pinpoint accuracy. This range puts almost the entire country of China within the missile’s range. Though an ICBM requires a missile with a range of at least 5,500 km, India’s closest contender for an ICBM is the Agni 5, which can reach countries on other continents, including parts of Africa and Europe.
Though the government claims that it has a maximum range of around 5,000 kilometres, several reports indicate that it can hit targets as far away as 8,000 kilometres, according to the report. The nuclear-capable missile can carry a warhead weighing around 1,500 kg and has a launch weight of 50,000 kg, making it one of the country’s most powerful missiles.
