India test-fires missile

BALASORE: India successfully test-fired the indigenously developed, nuclear-capable, short range ballistic missile (SRBM) Agni-I from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) on Wheeler Island, off the Orissa coast, today.

This was the third missile India test-fired in two days. “It was a fantastic mission carried out by the Indian Army. The test-fire of the Agni-I missile met all parameters,” SP Dash, director of ITR, said. This surface-to-surface, single-stage missile, powered by solid propellants, was launched into the sky around 13:25 pm local time. The missile re-entered the earth’s atmosphere and its dummy warhead impacted in the waters of the Bay of Bengal.

The operation was taken care of with the help of necessary logistic support provided by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) at the ITR. Weighing 12 tons, the 15 metre tall Agni-I, which can carry payloads weighing up to one tonne, has already been inducted into the Indian Army.