India successfully test-fired Agni-I ballistic missile

India on 14 March 2016 successfully test-fired indigenously built nuclear-capable intermediate range Agni-I ballistic missile. It was launched from launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Abdul Kalam Island (Wheeler Island) on the Odisha coast.

The trial was as part of training exercise by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of Indian Army.

The sophisticated missile covered 700 km distance within 9 minutes and 36 seconds.

The latest trial of Agni-I followed the first successful test-fire that was conducted on 27 November 2015 from the same base.

About Agni-I ballistic missile

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

• The missile is 15-metre-long and weighed 12 tonnes and equipped with sophisticated navigation system which ensures it reaches the target with a high degree of accuracy and precision.

• It is designed to carry a payload of more than one tonne. Its strike range can be extended by reducing the payload.

• The launch was undertaken as a part of periodic training activity by SFC to further consolidate operational readiness

• The missile is a surface-to-surface and single-stage missile powered by solid propellants and capable of hitting a target 700 kilometers away.

• 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.

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