User trial of Agni-1, surface-to-surface missile

Oct 06: Agni-1 short range surface-to-surface missile has been launched with great success from the Integrated Test Range launch complex Chandipur off the Orissa coast for the fourth time in its test history in the late hours of the Friday morning.

The single stage solid fuelled missile has the striking range of 700 km and can easily target the nearby areas of India without being placed near the borders.

Features of the missile are that propellant system is fed by solid fuel and it has the capacity of carrying almost one tonne nuclear war heads. Another operational ease associated with the missile is that it can be fired from the road as well as rail mobile launchers.

The missile was launched at 10:37 am and reached its target in the Bay of Bengal with the speed of 2.5 kilometres per second.

As Agni-1 has already been inducted into Army the purpose of this launch operation was to test its user friendliness as the whole operation was executed by its user that is Army whether it was command, operation, coordination, execution.

Army sources said that the test was a milestone in the preparedness of the Army in using their weapon systems.

This is to be known that Agni series of ballistic missiles have been indigenously developed which include Agni 3 rd having strike range of 3500 kilometre and Agni 2 nd which has the striking range of 200 kilometre.

Agni-1 was test fired first time in 2002. The second test was conducted in 2003 and third one in 2004.