India test fires n-capable Agni-V missile

India on Sunday successfully test fired its longest-range Agni-V nuclear-capable missile for the second time in less than one and a half years, defence ministry sources said.

It was fired from the Inner Wheeler Island, a launch site at Bhadrak, about 200 km from Bhubaneswar. The missile can hit targets deep inside China and Pakistan, the sources said. "The test was successful," spokesman R.K. Gupta for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) told IANS.

The missile flew on a predefined path and reached its destination with expected precision. 

Powered by three stage solid rocket motors, the missile had a flawless, spectacular launch in auto mode and followed its entire trajectory in textbook manner, dropping the three motors at predefined stages into the ocean. Ships located in midrange and at the target point tracked the vehicle and witnessed the final event.

All the radars and electro-optical systems, ship based and those based on ground stations along the path monitored the performance parameters of the missile and displayed information in real time. All the systems and subsystems of the missile performed well.

The navigation systems, very high accuracy ring laser gyro based inertial navigation system and the most modern and accurate micro navigation system ensured the missile reached the target point within few meters of accuracy. The high speed onboard computer and fault tolerant software along with robust and reliable bus guided the missile flawlessly, Gupta said.

He said with the latest launch, the DRDO was now ready to start the process of production and induction of the missile in the military. But some more tests may be conducted.

With the latest launch, India has strengthened its position as a member of the exclusive club of nations, including the US, Russia and China, that have the capability to hit targets over 5,000 km away. The first test of this home-grown missile was carried out successfully in April 2012.

Defence minister AK Antony congratulated the scientists of DRDO and said they had made the country proud.