'Missile Rani': Here’s Sheena Rani, the DRDO Force Behind the Agni -5 Missile

The first flight test of India's indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) technology was successfully carried out on Monday, according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This capability enhances the country's strategic deterrent capability by enabling the weapon system to deliver multiple nuclear warheads against separate targets hundreds of kilometers apart. India is now one of only six countries in the world that can deploy MIRV missile systems, thanks to Mission Divyastra, also known as the "divine weapon." The other five countries are China, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Russia.

A second official revealed that the project was led by a female DRDO scientist and included other female scientists as well, tying the test to the increasing Nari Shakti (woman power) in the country. True, a number of crucial missile tests have involved women scientists from DRDO. The project was overseen by Shankari Chandrasekaran, while Sheela Rani was the programme director of Agni V.

Working at the Advanced Systems Laboratory of the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) in Hyderabad, the 57-year-old scientist is a "powerhouse of energy" in her field. Sheena Rani attended Thiruvananthapuram's College of Engineering and is a qualified computer scientist and electronics and communications engineer. She was an employee at India's premier civilian rocketry facility, the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), for a period of eight years. As a lateral entry, she joined the DRDO after the 1998 Pokhran nuclear test.

Ms. Rani has been involved with the Agni missile series' launch control systems since 1999. Her role model is Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, also known as India's "Missile Man" and a former president and director general of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). She follows in the footsteps of Dr. Kalam, who began his career at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) before taking over the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Dr. Avinash Chander, the missile technologist who guided DRDO through its most challenging years, is another figure she credits with influencing her professional trajectory. Dr. Chander said that Sheena Rani is "always smiling, willing to innovate and her dedication to the Agni missile programme is spectacular, yesterday's launch was a crowning glory for her". Her husband, PSRS Sastry, was involved in missile development for the DRDO and oversaw the 2019 launch of the Kautilya satellite by ISRO, which gathered electronic intelligence.

The scientists from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) who helped carry out the intricate Mission were commended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a post on the social media platform X, he wrote, "Proud of our DRDO scientists for Mission Divyastra, the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology."