India Successfully Test Fires Nuclear Capable Strategic Missile

"India today successfully test fired the Agni Prime missile off the coast of Odisha in Balasore. Agni Prime is a new generation advanced variant of the Agni class of missiles. It is a canisterised missile with a range capability between 1,000 and 2,000 kms," government officials told ANI.

Defense minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the Defense and Research Development Organization (DRDO) for the successful flight test and expressed his happiness over the system's performance.

“Test carried out by DRDO at 11.06am. Telemetry, radar, electro-optical stations and downrange ships positioned along eastern coast tracked and monitored missile trajectory and parameters. Missile followed textbook trajectory, meeting all mission objectives with high level of accuracy,” the DRDO said in a statement.

The ballistic missile weighs 50 per cent less than Agni 3 and can be launched from rail and road and stored for a longer period and transported all across the country as per operational requirements.

On December 7, the country successfully test-fired the air version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile that the ministry of defense described as a ‘major milestone’ in BrahMos development.

The ministry had said the missile was successfully test-fired from Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Sukhoi 30 MKI supersonic fighter aircraft from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), based in Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha.

Around the same time, the Vertically Launched Short Range Surface to Air Missile (VL-SRSAM) was successfully test-fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur.

According to Defense Research and Development Organization officials (DRDO), the air defence system can engage targets at around 15km. The VL-SRSAM, indigenously designed and developed by the DRDO for the Indian Navy, is meant for neutralizing various aerial threats at close ranges, including sea-skimming targets, the organization said.