India has successfully testfired its home-made nuclear-capable surface-to-air missile Agni 1 1307123

Posted On
a
 

Defense News - India
 
 
Friday, July 13, 2012, 09:46 AM
 
India has successfully testfired its home-made nuclear-capable surface-to-air missile Agni 1.
India on Friday, July 13, 2012, successfully testfired its home-made, nuclear-capable, surface-to-air Agni 1 missile from a military base in the eastern state of Odisha, sources said. It is the first trial of the Agni series of missiles after the much-celebrated success of the maiden test of 5000-km range Agni-V missile in April.
     
India on Friday, July 13, 2012, successfully testfired its home-made, nuclear-capable, surface-to-air Agni 1 missile from a military base in the eastern state of Odisha, sources said. It is the first trial of the Agni series of missiles after the much-celebrated success of the maiden test of 5000-km range Agni-V missile in April.
The Agni I, with a range of 700–900 km, is capable of carrying a conventional payload of 1,000 kg or a nuclear warhead.
     

Massive preparations have been underway for the test since over a fortnight by defence scientists and Army personnel, with heavy security arrangement along the sea coast.

Though Agni-I was initially planned to be tested in May, the test was deferred till July reportedly due to some problems during the integration of the missile with the tracking systems and other sub-systems.

The Agni-I is short-range and surface-based ballistic missile in the Agni series. It has a strike range of 700-900 km. Compared it its longer range cousins, its height is just 15 metres and it is powered by both solid and liquid propellants, which imparts it a speed of 2.5 km per second.

This missile was first test-fired on January 25, 2002 and since then several trails have been conducted. It is designed to bridge the gap between indigenously built short-range Prithvi, already deployed in the Army, and medium range Agni-II that has a range of more than 2,000 km, sources said.