India Successfully Conducts First Night Trial Of Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile Agni-II

India on Saturday (16 November) successfully conducted the first night trial of nuclear capable intermediate range ballistic missile Agni-II from the Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast.

The Strategic Forces Command of the Indian Army test-fired the versatile surface-to-surface medium-range nuclear-capable missile from launching complex IV of the Integrated Test Range on Saturday evening, defence sources said.

Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the missile has already been inducted into the armed forces.

The 20-metre long, two stage ballistic missile has a strike range of 2,000 km. It has a launch weight of 17 tonnes and can carry a payload of 1,000 kg, the sources said.

The entire trajectory of the trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and two naval ships located near the impact point in the down range area of Bay of Bengal, DRDO sources were cited in The Tribune report as saying.

The two stage missile equipped with advanced high accuracy navigation system, was guided by a novel state-of-the-art command and control system and propelled by solid rocket propellant system.

(With inputs from IANS)