BHUBANESWAR: India on Saturday successfully flight-tested next-generation nuclear-capable ballistic missile Agni Prime from a defence facility off Odisha coast demonstrating the repeatability and robustness of the newly developed weapon system.
Indigenously developed by DRDO, the two-stage canisterised missile was test-fired from the launching complex IV of the Abdul Kalam Island at about 11.06 am in full operational configuration.
Blasted off from a hermetically sealed canister fitted to a mobile launcher, the missile followed textbook trajectory, meeting all mission objectives with a high level of accuracy. Agni P is the latest and most advanced variant of the Agni series missiles and it can destroy targets 2000 km away.
“This was an excellent mission accomplished. With all new and advanced technologies, including improved guidance and propulsion system, the missile followed the flight path perfectly as coordinated validating all mission parameters,” Secretary of Department of Defence (R&D) and DRDO Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy told The New Indian Express.
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This was one of the newly developed weapons on the focus of the DRDO and it could be readied for the second test within six months of the first experimental trial conducted on June 28. Weighing about 30 tonnes, the missile can carry a warhead of around 1500 kg.
“There has been a lot of improvements in terms of technology as compared to the previous trial. It is faster and stealthier. Composite rocket motors, guidance and re-entry systems and electromechanical actuators are all the latest developments. The second flight test has proven the reliable performance of all the advanced technologies integrated into the system,” he said.
The solid-propellant ballistic missile with dual redundant navigation and guidance system covered the intended range in about 800 seconds. Various telemetry, radar, electro-optical stations and downrange ships positioned along the eastern coast tracked and monitored the missile trajectory and parameters.
Though it was initially anticipated that Agni P will replace the existing missiles having the same strike range, Dr Reddy said, it all depends on the user. With the capability to achieve maximum manoeuvrability against any missile defence system, the weapon is difficult to be intercepted, he added.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO for the successful flight test and expressed his happiness for the excellent performance of the system.