New generation ballistic missile ‘Agni P’ successfully test-fired!
The test conducted by DRDO today was the second test launch of the Agni Prime missile
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New Delhi, Dec 18: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully tested the new generation nuclear-capable ballistic missile ‘Agni P’ Saturday, said the Ministry of Defence. The test conducted earlier today was the second test launch of the Agni Prime missile, which was tested for the first time in June this year.
"Various telemetry, radar, electro-optical stations and downrange ships positioned along the eastern coast tracked and monitored the missile trajectory and parameters. The missile followed textbook trajectory meeting all mission objectives with high level of accuracy," the Ministry said in a statement.
Notably, the Agni P is a two-stage canisters solid-propellant ballistic missile with dual redundant navigation and guidance system. This second flight test has proven the reliable performance of all the advanced technologies integrated into the system.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO for the successful flight test and expressed his happiness for the excellent performance of the system. Dr. G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO also appreciated the efforts of the team to have done the second development flight trial with many additional features and congratulated for the consecutive success within the same calendar year.
Also Read: India successfully test-fires Agni series' new generation nuclear missile -Agni P
"From whatever I have read, I think it's a maneuvering warhead and it can maneuver after reentry. So it can hit targets that are moving, for example, ships. You might have heard of the Chinese capability to hit aircraft carriers at long distances. [inaudible] systems give you that kind of capability," Dr. Avinash Chander, former director-general of DRDO, told StratNews Global Editor-in-Chief Nitin Gokhale in a recent interview.
India on June 28, 2021, had successfully carried out the test-firing of a new missile of the Agni series known as Agni-Prime off the coast of Odisha.
Key Highlights:
- Agni P is a new generation advanced variant of the Agni class of missiles. It is christened Agni Prime.
- It has a range capability between 1,000 and 2,000 kms.
- It is a canisterised missile that can be launched from rail and road.
- It can be stored for a longer period.
- Based on requirements, it can be transported across the length and breadth of the country.
- It weighs half of the Agni III missile.
- It has many advanced technologies such as composites, propulsion systems, innovative guidance and control mechanisms and state of the art navigation systems.
- It can be used to target enemy warships in the Indo-Pacific.
Agni is one of the five missiles developed by the DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme that started in 1983. India's first intermediate-range ballistic missile, Agni I was successfully test-fired in May 1989 and was inducted into service in 2004. The missile has a range capability between 700 and 900 kilometers.