Agni I Test scheduled for July second week

http://newindianexpress.com/states/orissa/article556265.ece

By Hemant Kumar Rout - BALASORE

02nd July 2012 11:51 AM

The Indian armed forces are readying for a user specific trial of nuclear-capable missile Agni-I between July 8 and July 14 from the defence base off the Odisha coast.

Sources said the missile had already landed on the Wheeler Island test facility of the Integrated Test Range (ITR). Preparations for its launch have begun.

DRDO Chief and Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister VK Saraswat confirmed that the test was planned to be conducted in July.

“After that two other variants of Agni will be tested and the DRDO is planning for the second test of Agni-V early next year,” he told this paper.

As the Agni-I has already been inducted in the Army, the test will be conducted by the personnel of Strategic Forces Command (SFC). This will be its limited stock production (LSP) test. One missile has been selected at random from a bunch of missiles after production for the purpose.

The Indian strategic forces field a variety of missiles, including the shorter-range Prithvi ballistic missiles, the medium-range Akash surface-to-air missiles and the unique supersonic BrahMos cruise missile besides the Agni.

A defence scientist associated with the programme said there were considerable improvements in its re-entry technology and manoeuvrability since Agni-I’s first trial.

This test will reconfirm the technical parameters set for the user (Army).

The Agni-1 is an antiquated short-range ballistic missile in the Agni series. It has a strike range of 700-900 km. Compared to its longer-range cousins, its height is just 15 metres and powered by both solid and liquid propellants, which imparts it a speed of 2.5 km per second.

The missile weighs around 12 tonnes and can carry both conventional and nuclear payloads of about 1,000 kg.