Agni-II adds fire power to N-deterrence

He said, 8220;We have reached a point from where now on nobody from anywhere will dare to threaten us.8221;

In a film recorded at the operational room in the launch area, Fernandes congratulated the scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation DRDO associated with the project. He described it as a 8220;great day for India8221;. Agni-II is a two-stage solid-fuel IRBM with a range in the region of 3,000 km. It is believed to be about 20 m long, with a total topped up weight of 16 ton and can carry a1000 kg warhead.

Describing the substantial differences8217; between this and the earlier tested version, Dr K Santhanam, Chief Advisor Technologies in the DRDO, said the 8220;AII-O1 test was conducted in operational configuration, utilising superior telemetry8221;. The other significant difference between the two versions is the mobile launched capability of Agni-II. This was demonstrated in a short film on today8217;s launch.

The missile lifted from a rail-mobile launcher at 9.47 am and reached its splashdown point 11 minutes later, after covering a distance of more than 2000 km. The Defence Minister said, 8220;It was at the scheduled time, and the flight went without any hitch. Under constant observation from various stations and ships, the flight demonstrated perfection of a very high order in missile technology. There was extraordinary teamwork involved.8221;

Confirming the operationalisation of Agni-II as a weapons system, Fernandes said, 8220;It demonstrates our mobile launch capability. This will allow us to movein rugged areas with a compact weapons system8221;. On the question of the warhead, he said the missile can 8220;carry special weapons payload8221;. While the flight data received from the various stations tracking the missile is still to be fully analysed, 8220;the advanced navigation and guidance systems, the sophisticated on-board packages, were all tested successfully,8221; he added. Confirming the fact that the Agni programme had been put on hold since the last test flight in 1994, Fernandes said, 8220;As with the Pokharan tests, we started the programme as soon as we came into government sic8221;.

In reply to a question about restraint, he said, 8220;We don8217;t need to be told by anybody about restraint8221;. He then thanked the Prime Minister, who he said, 8220;has taken tremendous interest in the programme. And for the support he has given to us in the Ministry of Defence and the DRDO8221;. While the indigenous nature of the Agni-II launch puts India in a select league of countries, it is the success of the solid propellantpackage that has evoked considerable interest in the strategic community here. 8220;Once you operationalise a solid-fuelled surface launched capability, then it isn8217;t too long before a submarine launched version can be tested,8221; said a naval officer.