Agni Prime missile: DRDO's boost to India's nuclear arsenal- 5 things to know about this ballistic missile

Agni Prime, the nuclear-capable new-generation ballistic missile was successfully flight-tested by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Wednesday. The missile was flight-tested from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha on June 7 night. The missile is developed as a successor for Agni-I and Agni-II missiles in the operational service.

“This was the first pre-induction night launch conducted by the users after three successful developmental trials of the missile, validating the accuracy and reliability of the system. Range Instrumentation like Radar, Telemetry and Electro-Optical Tracking Systems were deployed at different locations, including two down-range ships, at the terminal point to capture flight data covering the entire trajectory of the vehicle,” a Defence Ministry statement said.

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The Agni missile is a family of medium to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles, which is named after one of the five elements of nature, Agni i.e. fire. The first-ever missile in the Agni series was Agni-I, which was developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGDMP) and tested in 1989.

Since then, many versions of the missile have been developed, from Agni-I to Agni-V, which is an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). Agni-VI, another ICM with a range of 11,000-12,000 kilometres is currently in the development phase. Agni- Prime (Agni-P) is also such a missile in this series.

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The development of the Agni-P missile started back in 2016 when many organisations reported that DRDO is making a successor of Agni-I called Agni-1P, which will borrow technologies from Agni-IV and Agni-V.

Agni Prime missile: 5 things to know about the new-generation ballistic missile

1.The Agni Prime is a two-stage canisteredsolid propellant ballistic missile with dual redundant navigation and guidance systems.

2. It first underwent testing in June 2021 and has a range of 1000 to 2000 km. Compared to the older Agni series missiles, it is lighter.

3.This was the first pre-induction night launch conducted by the users after three successful developmental trials of the missile, validating the accuracy and reliability of the system.

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4.Range Instrumentation like Radar, Telemetry and Electro-Optical Tracking Systems were deployed at different locations, including two down-range ships, at the terminal point to capture flight data covering the entire trajectory of the vehicle.

5.This successful flight test has paved the way for the induction of the system into the Armed Forces.

(With inputs from agencies)

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