Nuclear-capable Agni-IV test-fired successfully

India on Monday test-fired nuclear-capable strategic missile Agni-IV from the Abdul Kalam Island (formerly known as Wheeler Island) off Orissa coast in Bhadrak district, nearly 200 km from here.

The missile was fired from a road-mobile launcher at about 9.45 am by the Indian Army’s Strategic Forces Command (SFC).

The 4,000-km range, two-stage missile weighs about 17 tonnes and is 20-metre-long. It is a strategic missile which can carry a nuclear warhead weighing about one tonne.

Agni-IV is the fourth in the Agni series of missiles which was earlier known as Agni II Prime. The missile is one of its kind and represents a quantum leap in terms of technology. The missile is lighter in weight and has two stages of solid propulsion and a payload with re-entry heat shield.

The two-stage solid propelled missile’s can be launched from both rail and road mobile launchers, which gives it more flexibility and wide range of operational success.

While the Army has already deployed Agni-I, II and III missiles, all of which are strategic missiles carrying nuclear warheads, Agni-IV and Agni-V have not been inducted into the Army yet.

“The test of the surface-to-surface missile was a success. It has met all mission objectives,” sources in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said.

This was the fifth trial of Agni-IV missile. The last trial conducted by SFC on December 2 last year was successful.