Successful night trial of Agni-II carried out

According to officials who asked not to be named, the missile was fired at 7:30pm from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) on the Dr Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha.

India’s strategic forces command carried out a successful night trial of the Agni-II, a nuclear-capable surface-to-surface missile that can hit targets up to 1,500km away and is seen as among the mainstay weapons in India’s arsenal.

Army displays a Agni II missile during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi. (Photo: Ajay Aggarwal/ Hindustan Times)

According to officials who asked not to be named, the missile was fired at 7:30pm from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) on the Dr Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha. The missile hit the target with accuracy and its trajectory was as planned, the officials added.

‘Agni-II’, an intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) has already been inducted into the armed forces.

According to one of these official, the night trial was part of routine testing that is carried out at different times of the day/

The trajectory of the trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and two naval ships located near the impact point in the down range area of Bay of Bengal, news agency PTI quoted a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) source as saying.

The two stage missile equipped with advanced high accuracy navigation system, was guided by a novel state-of-the-art command and control system and propelled by solid rocket propellant system.

Saturday’s test was carried out by the specially formed Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the Army with logistic support from the DRDO.

‘Agni-11’ is part of the Agni series of missiles which includes Agni-I with a 700 km range, Agni-III with a 3,000 km range, Agni-IV and Agni-V both having long range capabilities.

(With agency inputs)