Article Posted on : - Nov 23, 2009

A File Photo of Agni - II missile

BALASORE (PTI): India is likely to test its nuclear capable Agni-II Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) for the first time during night, defence officials said.

The trial is expected to be conducted from the Wheelers Island off Orissa coast tonight, they said.

"Range integration work in Integrated Test Range (ITR) for the proposed trial has been completed and if final check-up in the sub-system of the missile is found flawless, the mission will be taken up tomorrow," the officials said on Sunday.

A special 'strategic forces team' raised by the Army would conduct the trial with necessary logistic support by various ITR laboratories and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists.

The indigenously built weapon is a two-stage solid propelled ballistic missile and has a weight of 17 tonnes and length of 20 metres. It can carry a payload of one tonne over a distance of 2,000 km.

Agni-II was developed by Advanced Systems Laboratory along with other DRDO laboratories and integrated with Bharat Dynamics Ltd, Hyderabad with the private sector participating in a big way in its production.

The missile is part of the Agni series which included Agni-I (700 km range) and Agni-III (3,500 km range). Agni-I was already inducted and Agni-III is in the process of induction, the officials added.