Agni-IV successfully launched

Balasore : India on Monday successfully test fired its 4000-km range nuclear capable ballistic missile 'Agni-IV', making it ready for induction into the Army.

"The test firing was a total success. The missile travelled its full range," M V K V Prasad, director of Integrated Test Range, told PTI. The third consecutive trial of the missile was conducted at Wheeler Island off Odisha coast at 10.52 am, DRDO said, adding the serial production of the missile would begin now. The test fire is the last one in the series of development launches. Propelled by composite solid fuel rocket motor technology, Agni-IV was launched from its road mobile launcher, which is also indigenously developed by DRDO.

The long range radars and electro-optical tracking systems which were located all along the coast tracked and monitored all the parameters throughout the flight. Two ships located near the target point tracked the vehicle and witnessed the final event, a DRDO release said. Defence Minister A K Antony congratulated DRDO chief Avinash Chander and his team on the successful test launch.

"The missile took off majestically, rose to a height of over 850 km, covered the intended range in about 20 minutes, hit the target with two digit accuracy; meeting all mission objectives and proving the capabilities of the missile," DRDO spokesman Ravi Gupta said.