India successfully test fires n-capable Agni-I missile

Balasore: India Thursday successfully test-fired its indigenously built nuclear capable Agni-I missile, which has a strike range of 700 km, from a test range off Odisha coast as part of a user trial by the Army.

The surface-to-surface, single-stage missile, powered by solid propellants, was test-fired from a mobile launcher at about 11.11 hrs from launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island, about 100 km from here, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) spokesman Ravi Kumar Gupta said.

Describing the trial as fully successful, Gupta said the ballistic missile was launched by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the army as part of a training exercise.

"The entire exercise was conducted in a perfect manner and the trial was totally successful," he said.

"The DRDO developed medium range ballistic missile from the production lot was launched as part of regular training exercise by the armed forces," said another official.

Agni-I missile has a specialised navigation system which ensures it reaches the target with a high degree of accuracy and precision.

The missile, which has already been inducted in to Armed Forces has proved its excellent performance in terms of range, accuracy and lethality.

Weighing 12 tonnes, the 15-metre-long Agni-I, which can carry payloads up to 1000 kg, has already been inducted into the Indian Army.

Agni-I was developed by advanced systems laboratory, the premier missile development laboratory of the DRDO in collaboration with Defence Research Development Laboratory and Research Centre Imarat and integrated by Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad.

The last trial of the Agni-I missile was successfully carried out on April 12, 2014 from the same base. It was first trial that was launched after sunset.