Agni-V test fired successfully, India create history

India has created history and achieved another milestone in its defence system when it successfully tested the much-awaited Agni-V long-range ballistic missile. With the testing of Agni-V successfully, now India has put itself in the top four countries of the world, which have the missile range of 5000km. Other three countries are U.S., Russia and China.

Commonly known as China killer, Agni-V was launched from a defence base in Odisha, which hit the target with high accuracy.

Now this missile provides India the capability to hit targets deep inside China and the entire Pakistan territory.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chief V.K. Saraswat said that the missile test was carried out at 8.07 a.m. from the test range in Wheelers' island off Odisha coast.

India is today a nation with proven capability to design, develop and produce a long-range ballistic missile. India is a missile power now. The three-stage Agni-V missile's entire performance has been successfully demonstrated. All mission objectives and operational targets have been met," Saraswat added.

However Agni-V is still short of being called an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile, as the world-recognised range for the same is over 7,500 km.

It is noted that it will go through a series of more test before its induction into the armed forces by the end of 2014.

Actually Agni-V was scheduled to launch on Wednesday but due to bad weather and lighting it was postpone for the Thursday.

Interestingly, the Agni-V programme has a woman missile scientist, Tessy Thomas, as the number two in the project under director Avinash Chander. Thomas had led the Agni-IV missile programme.

(With inputs from IANS)