Defence Research and Development Organisation chief V.K. Saraswat on Friday expressed confidence
that there would be an Agni-VI project — after the success of the 5,000-kmrange long-range ballistic missile Agni-V’s maiden launch.
The defence organisation added that India would now focus on launching multiple independent re-entry vehicles (MIRVs), which would give a single missile the capability of hitting multiple targets on re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere from space.
Dr Saraswat said the DRDO would also focus on the ability to launch minisatellites as well as the capability to hit a satellite in space, even as he added that India was opposed to the weaponisation of space and would not develop such a weapon.
Asked about whether the DRDO can develop technologies to launch missiles with a range of 10,000 km,
Dr Saraswat said that once it was decided to develop such an ICBM, it would take about three to four years.
However, he said there was no threat perception to necessitate the development of an ICBM of such range. However, he made it clear that there was no policy in place to cap missilerange capability to 5,000 km.