SOURCE: API
Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has neither confirmed nor denied that reports of a recent test of a missile were Agni-V but more experts have now questioned the low velocity of the projectile that was not only seen in the whole easter coast of India but also on the far northeastern countries like Bangladesh and Myanmar.
A report in ” The Week ” claimed that its source hinted that it was a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) test. “It may not be a test of the Agni 5 and can be something much bigger. But whatever it is, it adds one big feather to the cap of India.”
Most hypersonic glide vehicles have been designed with a ballistic missile for the first stage, An HGV’s ability to maneuver as it descends into thicker and thicker air allows it to be both more accurate and unpredictable. When the vehicle’s wings begin generating lift as it reaches the upper wisps of the atmosphere, it gains the ability to roll and maneuver. This means it can alter its trajectory to aim at a different target than its orbit suggested, or to evade an anti-ballistic missile.
The HGV had been identified as one of the 18 major platforms for industry-led design and development under various routes. DRDO successfully demonstrated its hypersonic air-breathing scramjet technology with the flight test of the Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV) on September 7, 2020.