India’s indigenously developed nuclear-capable ballistic missile Agni-V was successfully test-fired from Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast at 11.18 a.m. on Monday.
This is the fourth success in a row for the Agni missile series which can take out targets about 5000 km away.
The missile lifted off from a canister mounted on a huge TATRA positioned on Wheeler Island. A gas generator at the bottom of the canister ejected the 17 m-long, three-stage missile weighing 50 tonnes.
The latest Agni-V is the most advanced, having some new technologies incorporated into it in terms of navigation and guidance, warhead and engine.
Agni-V has had an enviable record – with three successes in a row on April 19, 2012, September 15, 2013 and January 31, 2015.
A canisterised launch from a truck gives the missile flexibility of movement and reduced reaction time. The missile can be made vertical in three minutes.
