India tests n-capable Agni II missile (Third Lead)

BHADRAK - After two successive failures last year, India Monday successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable intermediate range Agni II missile, with a range of over 2,000 km, from a launch site in Orissa, officials said.

The surface-to-surface missile was tested by army personnel as part of a training exercise from Wheeler’s Island in Bhadrak district, about 200 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, an official said.

“The vehicle lifted off at 9.18 a.m. and was tracked by various downrange stations. It was a very successful launch. It met all the mission objectives,” S.P. Dash, director of the test range, told IANS.

The Agni II missile, part of India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, is 20 metres long and can carry a payload of 1,000 kg.

The missile weighs 17 tonnes and its range can be increased to 3,000 km by reducing the payload. It can be fired from both rail and road mobile launchers.

It takes only 15 minutes for the missile to be readied for firing, officials said, adding that the Agni II-version of the Agni series of missiles was first test-fired in 1999 from the same location.

The last two tests in May and November did not meet the mission’s desired objectives as on both the occasions the missile lost its speed and deviated from its flight path. Scientists say they have now corrected all the errors.

With Monday’s test, the Strategic Forces of the Indian army have carried out the launch of all three versions of Agni within three months. They had earlier tested the 3,500-km range Agni-III in February and the 700-km range Agni-I missile in March from the same test range.

The test was witnessed by more than 100 defence scientists, including Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) chief V.K. Saraswat and Avinash Chandra, director of the Agni programme.