Indian army successfully tested Agni – I missile from the Wheeler Island, off Odisha. This nuclear capable ballistic missile is Pakistan specific and was first tested in December 2002. It has already been inducted into the Indian army and is now at the disposal of Strategic Forces Command (SFC).
SFC is also called as Strategic Nuclear Command, forms part of India’s Nuclear Command Authority (NCA).
It is responsible for the management and administration of the country’s tactical and strategic nuclear weapons stockpile.It was created on January 4, 2003 by Vajpayee Government. (wikipedia)
It is important to note that this missile is already being produced by DRDO for the Indian army and the test was held to check army’s preparedness in handling this missile successfully.
Agni-I is a 12 tonne, 15 metre long, 700km range missile. Its USP is that it has a specialised navigation system called Ring Laser Gyro- INS to ensure high degree of accuracy to hit the target.
It is a single stage missile that is powered by solid propellants and can carry a nuclear warhead of 1000kg. Today’s test was conducted on a mobile launcher, i.e, from Tatra truck. This gives the army unique capability to launch the missile anywhere from land even from high altitude rough terrains.
Its strategic importance lies in the fact that it is now fully functional and ready to be launched into enemy territory when the need arises.
