Jubilant over the successful test-firing of Agni- 4, country’s latest strategic nuclear-capable missile, the Defence Research Development Organisation has decided to launch its 5,000-km version by the end of February 2012.
“To strengthen India’s deterrence capabilities, advanced nuclear-capable Agni-5 will be ready for its test fire by the end of February. At present, it is undergoing integration activity, and but is right on schedule,” Dr VK Saraswat, DRDO chief and scientific advisor to the defence minister.
Addressing the media after the test-firing, Saraswat said that now, India has better missiles than Pakistan. He added that by the end of 2012, testing will complete, and from 2013, production will start for Agni-4. It was launched from a test range in Wheeler Island of Odisha coast on Tuesday morning.
Explaining Agni-4’s capabilities, Saraswat said that earlier missiles were based on rail mobile launchers, which needed an exhaustive infrastructure support.
“Agni-4 is based on road mobile launchers. It gives higher flexibility, and has a maintenance-free system. It is better in terms of accuracy, performance and immune to counter measures as well,” he added.
Agni-4 belongs to DRDO’s flagship programme to make the country self-reliant in missile technology. “We have now graduated to a higher level of missile technology with more capable versions of the earlier missiles, such as Agni-1 and Agni-2,” he said.
Tessy Thomas, project director of Agni-4, said, “This missile is capable of carrying out strategic warheads for the forces; it will be produced and delivered to the armed forces as early as possible.”
She added that the DRDO has produced many state-of-the-art technologies in the missile system, such as composite rocket motors, high accuracy ring laser gyro-based inertial navigation system, micro navigation system, digital controller system etc.
