Two months after its embarrassing failure in the test firing of nuclear-weapons capable, surface-to-surface Prithvi-II ballistic missile from Chandipur in Orissa, the Defence Research Development Organisation officials are planning a slew of high-profile missile launches before the year ends.
On September 24, the Prithvi-II missile with a maximum range of 350 km dropped off a few seconds after it was fired from a mobile launcher from Integrated Test Range in Chandipur-on-sea of Orissa. DRDO so far has been silent on the failure on the missile which has been inducted into the Army.
DRDO sources said that on November 25, the nuclear-capable and surface-to-surface single stage Agni-I missile would be test-fired by personnel of the Strategic Forces Command as part of Indian Army's user-training exercise from Wheeler Island on Bay of Bengal. The missile was last successfully test-fired on March 28. Like Prithvi-II, Agni-I has also been inducted into the Army. The missile which has a range of 700 km, can carry payloads weighing up to 1000 kg. Agni-1, with its rail and road mobility can target most cities in Pakistan without having to be launched from the border. Agni-I is designed to bridge the gap between indigenously built short-range Prithvi, already deployed in the Army, and medium range Agni-II, that has a range of more than 2,000 km.
On September 24, the Prithvi-II missile with a maximum range of 350 km dropped off a few seconds after it was fired from a mobile launcher from Integrated Test Range in Chandipur-on-sea of Orissa. DRDO so far has been silent on the failure on the missile which has been inducted into the Army.
DRDO sources said that on November 25, the nuclear-capable and surface-to-surface single stage Agni-I missile would be test-fired by personnel of the Strategic Forces Command as part of Indian Army's user-training exercise from Wheeler Island on Bay of Bengal. The missile was last successfully test-fired on March 28. Like Prithvi-II, Agni-I has also been inducted into the Army. The missile which has a range of 700 km, can carry payloads weighing up to 1000 kg. Agni-1, with its rail and road mobility can target most cities in Pakistan without having to be launched from the border. Agni-I is designed to bridge the gap between indigenously built short-range Prithvi, already deployed in the Army, and medium range Agni-II, that has a range of more than 2,000 km.
On December 2, DRDO would test-fire supersonic cruise missile Brahmos that has a range of 290 kms. It was last tested successfully on September 5.
Similarly, the 2,000 km plus range surface-to-surface nuclear-capable missile Agni-II would be test-fired from Wheeler Island between December 8 and 12. The missile was last tested successfully on May 17 this year after two successive failures last year. The 20-metre long Agni-II is a two stage, solid-propelled ballistic missile. It has a launch weight of 17 tonnes and can carry a payload of 1000 kg over a distance of 2000 km. In February this year, the 3,500-km plus range Agni-III was also successfully test-fired.
Similarly, the 2,000 km plus range surface-to-surface nuclear-capable missile Agni-II would be test-fired from Wheeler Island between December 8 and 12. The missile was last tested successfully on May 17 this year after two successive failures last year. The 20-metre long Agni-II is a two stage, solid-propelled ballistic missile. It has a launch weight of 17 tonnes and can carry a payload of 1000 kg over a distance of 2000 km. In February this year, the 3,500-km plus range Agni-III was also successfully test-fired.