Nuclear capable Agni-I missile successfully test-fired

Indigenously developed nuclear capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-I was successfully test-fired from Dr Abdul Kalam Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast.
The user trial of the strategic missile was carried out by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of Indian Army.

About Agni I Missile

• Agni-I is the first missile of the Agni series launched in 1983 by the DRDO as part of Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) in India.
• Powered by both solid and liquid propellants and can be fired from road and rail mobile launchers.
• Features: weighs around 12 tonnes and is 15-metre-long. Designed to carry both conventional and nuclear payload of about 1000 kg.
• Can travel at a speed of 2.5 km/s and can destroy targets nearly 700 km away.
• Equipped with sophisticated navigation system which helps to navigate missile to hit the target with a high degree of accuracy and precision.

The Agni I missile already has been inducted into armed forces and claimed to be a part of the India’s minimum credible deterrence under No first to use policy.

Month: Current Affairs - November, 2015