Nuclear capable Agni-I ballistic missile successfully test-fired
The indigenously built nuclear capable Agni-I ballistic missile was successfully test-fired from a test range off Odisha coast, as part of a user trial by India Army.
It was test-fired from a mobile launcher from the launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Abdul Kalam Island (Wheeler Island). The last trial of Agni-I was conducted successfully in March 2016 from the same base.
About Agni-I missile
- Agni-I is intermediate range nuclear capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile. It is first missile of the Agni series launched in 1983.
- It was developed by a premier missile development laboratory of DRDO in collaboration with Defence Research Development Laboratory and Research Centre Imarat and integrated by Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad.
- It weighs 12 tonnes and is 15-metre-long. It is designed to carry a payload of more than one tonne. It is single stage missile powered by solid propellants.
- It can hit a target 700 km away. Its strike range can be extended by reducing the payload. It can be fired from road and rail mobile launchers.
- It is equipped with sophisticated navigation system which ensures it reaches the target with a high degree of accuracy and precision.
- The missile already has been inducted into armed forces. Since its induction it has proved its excellent performance in terms of range, accuracy and lethality.
- It is also claimed to be a part of the India’s minimum credible deterrence under No first to use policy.
Month: Current Affairs - November, 2016