India Successfully Test-fires Agni Missile

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, January 09, 2003

India Successfully Test-fires Agni Missile

India Thursday successfully test-fired the short range variant of the nuclear-capable Agni ballistic missile which can strike targets up to a distance of 700km.

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India Thursday successfully test-fired the short range variant of the nuclear-capable Agni ballistic missile which can strike targets up to a distance of 700km.

The surface-to-surface missile was test fired from a mobile launcher in clear weather, for the second time in one year, at 8.47 am from the coastal testing range at Chandipur-on-sea in Orissain east India.

The first test firing of the Agni-I variant took place on Jan. 25 last year. Thursday's launch came a day after Pakistan inducted the HATF-V Ghauri missile.

"Today's test firing of the missile was a smooth text book launch," according to a Defense Ministry official.

The 15-meter tall 12-ton missile with a one meter diameter is powered by solid fuel propulsion.

The launch of the one-stage missile is expected to help defense scientists validate some crucial technologies like guidance and telemetry systems.

Defense Minister George Fernandes and the Defense Research and Development (DRDO) Chief and Scientific Adviser to the Defense Ministry V K Aatre were among others who witnessed the launch.

Defense officials said that a few more tests of the shorter range variant of Agni-I missiles were likely to take place in the next few weeks.

Brahmos cruise missile, which is a Indo-Russian joint venture, other missiles like surface-to-air Akash and anti-tank Nag missile are also likely to be test fired in the near future.

The Agni missile was first test flown from the Interim Test Range at the beach resort of Chandipur-on-sea in Orissa on May 22,1989.

The DRDO, which launched its Integrated Guided Missile Development Program in the 1980's, described the same as a technology demonstrator.

Ignoring criticism from certain countries including Pakistan, India again conducted two more Agni tests on May 29, 1992 and February 19, 1994 to gauge the missile's various parameters.

The first extended version of the Agni, with a range of 2,000 km, was test-fired on April 11, 1999.

The missile, which was known as Agni-II having a re-entry launch vehicle, was considered a milestone in the country's missile development program.

A second test-firing of the longer-range Agni was conducted on January 17, 2001.

The defense experts described the present series of Agni-I as abridge between Prithvi-II (250 km range) and Agni-II which was capable of striking a target 2000 km away.

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