NEW DELHI, January 20 (RIA Novosti) – India carried out a successful test Monday of its new Agni-family nuclear-capable ballistic missile, local media reported.
The new-generation Agni-IV missile with a range of 4,000 kilometers (some 2,500 miles), developed by India’s Defense Research and Development Organization, was launched from a road mobile launcher deployed on Wheeler Island in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Odisha.
It was the third consecutive successful launch in a series of development trials of the two-stage, solid-propellant missile capable of carrying a 1-ton nuclear warhead. Two previous tests, in 2011 and 2012, were also a success.
The success of the Monday test “opens a new missile ready for induction” into the Indian army, The Hindu newspaper quoted Avinash Chander, scientific advisor to the Defense Minister and DRDO director-general, as saying.
The Agni-IV is part of India’s indigenous family of medium-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles. As of 2008, the Agni missile family has comprised three operational variants; two more, the Agni-IV and Agni-V, are still in testing phase.
The DRDO is reportedly working on the development of the sixth missile in the Agni family, the Agni-VI, with an estimated range of up to 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles).
