Agni Prime test successful: All you need to know about new generation missile

Agni Prime has a range of 1000km to 2000km and weighs 50 per cent less than the Agni 3 missile. The first test of the missile took place in June this year.

India on Saturday successfully test-fired the Agni Prime missile from APJ Abdul Kalam island off the coast of Odisha. Defence minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the successful test.

This was the second test of the Agni Prime Missile.

The missile test took place at 11.06 am, according to DRDO.

The missile followed textbook trajectory and met all mission objectives with high level of accuracy, the DRDO said, adding that the test was being monitored by telemetry, radar, electro-optical stations and downrange ships positioned along the eastern coast.

“The missile test met all its mission objectives with a high level of accuracy,” a DRDO official was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Agni Prime missile:

• According to DRDO, it is a two-stage canisterised solid-propellant ballistic missile with dual redundant navigation and guidance system.

• Agni P is the first of the new class of Agni missile to be launched by DRDO. It weighs 50 per cent less than Agni 3 and has new guidance and a new generation of propulsion.

• Since Agni P is canisterised, it can be launched from rail and road and stored for a longer period and transported all across the country as per operational requirements.

• This was the second flight test of the missile and has proven the reliable performance of all the advanced technologies integrated into the system, the DRDO said. The first test took place in June this year.

• The missile has a range between 1000km to 2000km, and can be used to target enemy armadas in the Indo-Pacific.