Indian army set to conduct n-capable Agni-II trial on Thursday

Indian army set to conduct n-capable Agni-II trial on Thursday

The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of Indian army is all setto conduct a user trial of 2000-km range nuclear capable surface-to-surfacemissile Agni-II in real time situation from a defence base off the Odishacoast.

Defence sources said the indigenously built IntermediateRange Ballistic Missile (IRBM) had been scheduled to be test fired from theWheeler Island test facility, nearly 12 km from Bhadrak coast any time inbetween 9 am to 11.30 am on Thursday.

An army official said though preparation has been completedfor the test, it depends on a favourable weather condition. “If the test doesnot take place on Thursday, it would be conducted on August 12. A good weathercondition is required to track the missile up to its full range,” he said.

Senior officials of the army, Agni team and ScientificAdvisor to Defence Minister and Director General of DRDO V K Saraswat havealready arrived at the Wheeler Island to oversee the launch preparation.

Prior to his landing at the test facility, Saraswat onWednesday visited lord Jagannath temple in Puri and offered prayer that he doesbefore any significant mission. The test assumes significance as a successfultrial would pave the way for its deployment, sources informed. 

While the range integration has been completed and themissile integrated with the launcher, radars, telemetry systems andelectro-optical tracking systems (EOTS) have been put in place. Naval shipswith tracking equipments also have been positioned close to the point ofimpact.

The aim and objective of the test is to make the army wellversed with the missile system and to provide the armed forces requiredconfidence to handle the weapon. Other parameters set by the user would also beproved during the trial.

The two-stage missile equipped with advanced high accuracynavigation system and guided by a novel scheme of state of the art command andcontrol system is propelled by solid rocket propellant. The missile, which hasa length of 21 meters and a diameter of 1.3 meter, weighs around 17 tonnes. Itcan carry a payload of around one tonne.

The Agni-II version of the Agni series of missiles was firsttest fired in 1999 from the same location and inducted in the army in 2004. Ittakes only 15 minutes for the missile to be readied for firing. Tight securityarrangements have been made in and around Wheeler Island for the test firing.

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