July 4, 2004 :: News
India today successfully tested what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh termed its “Agni A-1” ballistic missile, in what is likely a response to Pakistan’s Hatf missile tests last month, and the promise of other “important” tests in coming months.
The “Agni A-1” missile, described as having a 700-900 km range, is however probably the same missile as what is also termed the Agni-SR. (The SR stands for Short Range, as it has a lesser range but enhanced maneuverability and reentry technology, than the Agni-1 MRBM from which it was derived.) The Agni-SR is capable of being armed with a 20 kiloton nuclear warhead, and is highly accurate.
The only discrepancy between the comments by Indian “defense sources” about today’s missile test and what was previously known of the Agni-SR, is that the missile launched today is described as having a length of 12 meters, whereas the Agni-SR was previously reported as having a length of 14.8 meters. The same sources, cited by the PTI news agency in New Delhi, added that the missile is powered by a single-stage solid- fuel rocket, and that the missile travels at up to 2.5 km per second. They also confirmed that the so-called “Agni A-1”—like the Agni-SR—had had increased maneuverability and reentry capabilities, as compared to the original Agni missile, from which the Agni SR, Agni 2, and Agni 3 were each derived.
Sunday’s test launch took place from a mobile launcher located at the Integrated Test Range on Wheeler’s Island, in the Bay of Bengal, off India’s Orissa coast. This was reportedly the third test of the missile, with previous tests on January 25, 2002, and January 9, 2003, from the same launch site. (Article)
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