Hello Warriors. India on 14th March, 2016 successfully test-fired it’s indigenously built Nuclear-Capable Intermediate Range Agni-I ballistic missile, capable of hitting a target 700 kms away. It was conducted from a test range off Odisha coast as part of a user trial by the Army.
It was test-fired from a mobile launcher at 9:15 AM from launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Abdul Kalam Island (Formerly, Wheeler Island).
Here’s all you need to know about Agni 1 missile and this development:
- The trial, which formed part of training exercise by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of Indian Army, was fully successful.
- The sophisticated missile covered 700 km distance within 9 minutes and 36 seconds.
- The trajectory of the trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and naval ships from its launch till the missile hit the target area with accuracy.
- Agni-I is the first missile of the Agni series launched in 1983 by the DRDO as part of Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) in India.
- Developed by Advanced Systems Laboratory, the premier missile development laboratory of DRDO in collaboration with Defence Research Development Laboratory, Research Centre Imarat, it was integrated by Hyderabad based Bharat Dynamics Limited.
- Powered by both solid and liquid propellants, it can be fired from road and rail mobile launchers.
- The 15-metre-long Agni 1 weighs around 12 tonne and can carry both conventional and nuclear payload of about 1000 kg.
- It can travel at a speed of 2.5 km/s and can destroy targets ranging between 700 and 1250 kms away.
- Agni-I missile is equipped with sophisticated navigation system which ensures it reaches the target with a high degree of accuracy and precision.
The Agni I missile already has been inducted into armed forces and claimed to be a part of the India’s minimum credible deterrence under ‘No First To Use’ policy. The first trial of Agni-I was conducted in 1989 and the last user trial was conducted in November 2015 on Agni IV from Dr. Abdul Kalam (Wheeler) Island.
The missile, which has already been inducted into armed forces, has proved its excellent performance in terms of range, accuracy and lethality.
