India successfully test-fires nuclear capable Agni-IV missile

Defence official says flight was successful and it met all the mission parametres

Agni II intermediate range missile is paraded on India’s annual Republic Day in January. PHOTO: AFP/FILE

India successfully test-fired an unarmed Agni-IV intermediate range ballistic missile on Monday.

The 4,000-km range nuclear weapons-capable strategic missile was test fired the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast.

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The missile was launched at 9:45am from a road-mobile launcher by the Indian Army’s Strategic Forces Command, according to The Hindu.

The missile which is designed to carry a one-tonne payload covered a range of more than 3,500 km on Monday, before splashing down in the Bay of Bengal.


“Flight was successful and it met all the mission parametres”, a Defence Research and Development Organisation official told The Hindu.

Agni-IV is a two-stage nuclear-warhead-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile equipped with advanced avionics. The missile has a maximum range of 2,500 miles and is capable of carrying a payload of approximately 2,200 pounds.

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The two-stage solid-propelled, surface-to-surface ballistic missile is designed to carry a one-tonne payload to a distance of 4,000 km. Advanced ring laser gyro-based Inertial Navigation system and Micro Inertial Navigation System in redundant mode guided the missile to reach its pre-designated target area.

This article originally appeared on The Hindu.
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