New Delhi:
India has successfully carried out night-time test-firing of the 2,000 km range Agni-2 ballistic missile off the Odisha coast, according to government sources. The test of Agni-2 was carried out by the Strategic Forces Command and was deemed as successful after the missile destroyed dummy target with pin-point accuracy.
"India carries out successful night-time test-firing of the 2,000 km strike range Agni-2 ballistic missile. The test-firing was done by the Strategic Forces Command off the coast of Odisha," news agency ANI quoted government sources as saying.
Earlier last month, the Indian Air Force (IAF) had carried out successful firing of BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles from a mobile platform at Trak Island in Andaman Nicobar islands. The drill to check the IAF's capability to hit targets with "pin-point" accuracy close to 300 KM was conducted on October 23, the official sources said.
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"Surface-to-surface missiles were fired by IAF at Trak Island in the Andaman Nicobar group of islands," the official said, adding the missile engaged the designated mock targets close to 300 KM away.
The 2.5-tonne surface-to-surface missile has a range of around 300 km. BrahMos Aerospace, an India-Russian joint venture, produces the missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or from land platforms.
Apart from raising its stock of attack missiles, India also wants the long-range missile systems to tighten its air defence mechanism, particularly along the 3488 km-long Sino-India border and has signed a deal to purchase S-400 missile defence system from Russia. The S-400 Triumph is known as Russia's most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system.
