India test-fires Nuclear missile Agni-1successfully

The 700-km-range Agni-1or A-1, the first in the Agni series of nuclear missiles, was successfully test-fired on Thursday, 100 km off the Orissa coast on Wheeler’s Island.

The missile powered by solid propellants was test-fired from a rail mobile launcher by the strategic forces command from launch pad-4 of the integrated test range.

This was the second trial for the indigenous missile. A-1, which was inducted into the army in 2004, underwent its first such trial in October 2007. A-1, developed by

Hyderabad-based Advanced Systems Laboratory in collaboration with Defence Research and Development Organisation, was tested for its range, accuracy and lethality.

The 12-metre-long missile can be fired from road mobile launchers, can carry conventional and nuclear warheads weighing a tonne and is capable of hitting most targets in Pakistan.

Agni-1 weighs around 12 tonne. The missile has a highly
specialised navigation system, which ensures it hits the target with a high degree of accuracy.

The longest range surface-to-surface strategic ballistic missile of the series, Agni-V, with a range of 5,000 km will be tested next year.