NEW DELHI, Oct 5: India’s nuclear-capable Agni-I missile, which can strike deep inside Pakistan, passed a final “user trial” on Friday by specially-trained personnel who will handle it for the armed forces, the Press Trust of India said.
It said it was for the first time that personnel from the country’snewly-raised Strategic Forces Command conducted the “user trial” of the 700-km-range ballistic missile from the Wheelers Island off the Orissa coast.
“The missile tested was an upgraded version in which considerable improvements have been made in re-entry technology, giving the weapon more manoeuverability,” PTI said, quoting scientists involved with its production.
The test firing -- the fourth in the 700 km Agni-I series -- wascarried out at 10.30 am by the Strategic Forces personnel using mobile launchers from the Integrated Test Range complex 4 -- signalling the missile had become operational with the armed forces.
“The performance parameters of the missile were as expected and the desired objective have been met,” a Defence Ministry spokesman said.
The trials were undertaken, ministry sources said “to fix operating procedures for the missiles, which have already been inducted into the armed forces”. Agni-I would be the second series of missiles to be inducted after the much shorter-range Prithvi.
The Strategic Forces Command has raised a new missile group 334 for operating these missiles, PTI said. Agni-I is so far the only missile in India’s arsenal which operates on solid fuel. The 3,000 km-range Agni-III, which is under trial, also uses solid fuel.
Agni-I is a single stage version of Agni-II missile. It has a length of 15 metres and weighs 12 tons. It is capable of carrying a 1,000 kg payload and both nuclear as well as conventional warheads. The rocket propels it at a velocity of 2.5 km per second, PTI said quoting sources.
