CHENNAI: Preparations are under way for the launch of India's ballistic missile, Agni-II, from the Wheeler Island, off Dhamra village on the Orissa coast, on May 19. The Army will conduct the launch with the missile technologists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) present as "observers."This will be the fourth launch of Agni-II, which can carry nuclear warheads over a distance of 2,500 km. The Army has already deployed Agni-II in its arsenal.
DRDO officials said this launch was to "prove the effectiveness of the system and the readiness of the user [Army]" in firing the missile. Since the Army had already inducted the missile into its arsenal, it would pick an Agni-II at random from a clutch of missiles and fire it to test its effectiveness. DRDO officials called it "a repeat launch" to provide training to the Army personnel. "It is entirely the Army's show. We will only help them in case of any technical issue," they said. The missile would lift off from a rail-mobile launcher.
Agni-II is a two-stage surface-to-surface missile, powered by solid propellants. It weighs 17 tonnes and can carry a nuclear warhead weighing one tonne. The missile is 20 metres long. It has been designed and developed by the Advanced Systems Laboratory, a unit of the DRDO, in Hyderabad.