India test-fires Agni-I ballistic missile

India on Monday successfully test-fired its indigenously built nuclear-capable intermediate range Agni-I ballistic missile, capable of hitting a target 700 kms away, from a test range off Odisha coast as part of a user trial by the Army.

The surface-to-surface, single-stage missile, powered by solid propellants, 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 (Wheeler Island), a defence official said. The trial, which formed part of training exercise by the Strategic Forces Command of Indian Army, was fully successful, he said. The sophisticated missile covered 700 km distance within 9 minutes and 36 seconds, they said. “The launch was undertaken as a part of periodic training activity by SFC to further consolidate operational readiness,” the official said.

The trajectory of the trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and naval ships.