Agni-II successfully test fired for full range of 2,000 km

India today successfully carried out flight test of nuclear weapons capable strategic ballistic missile Agni-II, for its full range of more than 2,000 km, from Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast.

The missile was launched by Strategic Force Command personnel from a mobile launcher and the intermediate range ballistic missile carried a dummy payload of 1,000 kg. It was fired at 8.46 am from a rail mobile launcher.

Agni-II, which belongs to the group of Agni class of strategic missiles that form the bulwark of India's nuclear deterrence, has already been inducted into the services.

The two-stage solid propellant Agni-II, launched as part of regular Strategic Forces Command (SFC) exercise, reached the pre-designated target point in the Bay of Bengal within accuracy of few meters, following a 700-second flight.

Two ships located near the target point have tracked the terminal phase of the vehicle and witnessed the final event. The radars and electro-optical tracking stations have tracked and monitored the vehicle and all the relevant parameters, an official release said.

All the systems, propulsion, control, actuators, on-board computers, missile interface units and the navigation, guidance systems functioned fully to the perfection and ensured the vehicle reached the target within few meters of accuracy, it said.