K-5 (ballistic missile)
K-5 is a submarine-launched ballistic missile under development by the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India.
Description
The K-5 is a submarine-launched ballistic missile. The missile consists of three separate stages and uses solid rocket propellant. It is planned to have a range of around. The missile will be able to carry a payload weighing two tonnes. It is being developed to match the range of the Agni-V missile. It will be equipped on the Arihant-class submarines code named S4.The K-5 will be equipped with countermeasures to avoid radar detection and will be the fastest missile in its class. It will also be equipped with MIRV.
Development
The K-5 is being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation. The development of the missile started in 2015. After completing the development of the K-4 (missile) in January 2020, the DRDO shifted its focus towards developing the K-5.preparations for the maiden test of the missile were underway. In October 2020, Hindustan Times reported that the missile is currently under development and was expected to be tested by 2022.
In November 2025, the Advanced Centre for Energetic Materials conducted a successful static test of the 10-ton-class, stage-2 rocket motor for the K-5 SLBM at the Armament & Combat Engineering Systems facility in Hyderabad. The solid rocket motor's effectiveness and reliability for ballistic performance, safety margins, subsystem integration, burn time, thrust, and structural integrity under operating conditions were confirmed. The rocket motor's composite shell is composed of epofine resin and T700 carbon fiber. It has dimensions of in length and in diameter. For maximum burn efficiency, it uses HD 1.3 composite propellant with a nine-fin grain arrangement. The motor has a submerged nozzle with dual actuators for flexing during control simulations, and the test used a pyrogen-type igniting system. Using two electro-mechanical actuators, the nozzle flex test achieved ± 2° of movement, and the results matched expected performance curves.