BHUBANESWAR: The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of Indian army successfully flight tested surface-to-surface nuclear capable ballistic missile Agni-I from a defence base off Odisha coast on Tuesday night. The indigenously developed missile with better re-entry technology and manoeuvrability was fired by the armed forces from a mobile launcher at Abdul Kalam Island at about 8 pm.
A defence official said the test was a textbook launch meeting all mission objectives. The missile followed the prescribed trajectory and reached the target by covering more than 600 km, he said.“The test was carried out as part of the user training exercise and to reconfirm the technical parameters set for the user launch during night. The trial proved our capability to fire the missile any time,” he said.
Ground radars and telemetry stations monitored the course of the missile. Two naval ships located near the target point tracked it in the terminal phase of the flight. The missile used for the test was randomly picked up from the production lot.
Agni-I has a strike range of about 700 km. The 15 metre tall missile having a diameter of one metre is powered by both solid and liquid propellants. It can travel at a speed of 2.5 km per second. The ready-to-fire missile can blast off from both road and rail mobile launchers. It weighs around 12 tonne and can carry both conventional and nuclear payload of about 1000 kg. Prior to the test, a notice to airmen was issued and heavy security arrangements were made along the coast.