India Test-fires Agni-1 Missile

India on Nov. 25 successfully test-fired the nuclear capable Agni-I strategic ballistic missile. The missile, with a range of 700-900 kilometers, was test-fired by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island, off the Orissa coast. The test-flight came on the eve of the second anniversary of the Mumbai terrorist attack. DRDO describes the user trial by the Indian Army as “smooth and as per the test-book plan.” The Agni-I, an indigenously developed surface-to-surface single-stage missile, took off from a rail mobile launcher. “The missile, powered by solid propellants, was fired from launch pad four of ITR. It met all the mission parameters,” SFC sources tell Aviation Week. DRDO says it provided only logistic support for the launch. “It was a users’ call as part of their periodic training schedule,” sources say. The DRDO team was led by V.K. Saraswat and other senior scientists from the Missile Complex in Hyderabad, the sources add. The launch of Agni-1 was tracked by radars and electro-optic telemetry stations, including ships stationed closer to the impact area. The missile is capable of carrying payloads up to 1,000 kilograms, and has already been inducted into the army. “This is an an upgraded version of Agni-1 with increased manoeuvrability, re-entry modes and fine-tuned precision to hit the targets,” DRDO sources say. “It had a vertical lift-off. The missile is 15-metre-long with one-meter diameter. It is capable of launching from multiple launchers.”