The Hindu : Front Page : Agni-I test-fired successfully

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 24, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Agni-I test-fired successfully

T.S. Subramanian and Y. Mallikarjun

It was totally executed by the Army

Photo: DRDO

A MAJOR MILESTONE: Agni-I blasting off from Wheeler Island, off the Orissa coast, on Sunday. —

CHENNAI: Nuclear-capable surface-to-surface missile Agni-I was successfully test-fired on Sunday from the Wheeler Island, off Damra village, on the coast of Orissa.

A significant aspect of the test-firing was that it was totally executed by the Army, user of the missile. This is the second time the Army is test-firing the missile on its own.

The missile soared majestically at 10.15 a.m. from a road-mobile launcher, a huge truck, on the Integrated Test Range on the island. It cut a parabolic path across the sky, climbed into space and dived into the Bay of Bengal, reaching a distance of 700 km. Its re-entry system worked flawlessly.

This is the fifth successful launch of Agni-I, a product of the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

All objectives met

Avinash Chander, Mission Director, said from the Wheeler Island: “The launch went off perfectly well and the performance of all systems has been exactly as expected. The flight duration was nine minutes, meeting all the mission objectives.”

The launch was executed by the user [the Army], integrating all the operational systems and the strategic command network, he said.

“The capability of Agni-I missile system has been fully established and demonstrated, boosting the confidence in the preparedness of the user in the handling of the strategic weapon,” said Mr. Chander, who is also the Director of Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Hyderabad, which developed Agni-I.

V.K. Saraswat, Chief Controller, R and D (Missiles and Strategic Systems), DRDO, who was present during the test-firing, called the successful flight “a major milestone in India’s preparedness of strategic defence because it was operated and launched by the armed forces.” He described it as “a copybook launch, with all the systems performing to perfection.”

Dr. Saraswat pointed out that Agni-I, along with Agni-II and Agni-III, formed the triad of the country’s minimum, credible, nuclear deterrence.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page