Agni Prime missile test-fire: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Saturday morning successfully test fired the ‘Agni P’ missile. The launch took place at 11:06 am, and the new-generation nuclear capable ballistic missile took off from the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam island, located 10 kilometres off the coast of Odisha. The trajectory and parameters of the missile were monitored and tracked by many telemetry, electro-optical, radar stations as well as down-range ships that were positioned along the country’s East Coast, the DRDO said in a statement. The mission was successful as the missile followed the trajectory perfectly, and all the mission objectives were met with high accuracy.
For those who are wondering, ‘Agni P’ is a two-stage solid propellant ballistic missile which can be stored in a canister, according to DRDO, and it has a dual redundant navigation and guidance system. It is a new-generation missile in the Agni series, serving as an advanced variant to the family of missiles, and it has a range of between 1,000 km and 2,000 km.
The first flight test of the surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni P was conducted by DRDO in June this year and it had also proved successful. The second test aimed to prove that all the advanced technologies integrated into the missile system were reliable.
Upon the successful second test fire, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO for the mission.