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Short-range Agni test-fired
By Atul Aneja and Sandeep Dikshit
A TV picture shows the Agni missile blast off during test firing off the coast of Orissa on Friday.
NEW DELHI, JAN 25. In a demonstration of its military capability, India today tested a new, shorter variant of the Agni nuclear missile, but said the launch was not intended against any country.
``This (the test) is not directed against any country. This is part of technological evolution of our missile programme and its timing was determined solely by technical factors,'' Nirupama Rao, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said.
The missile tested today has a range of 700 km and is a variant of Agni-I, she said. Government sources said the missile used a solid fuel as propellant and was based on a single-stage rocket. The use of a solid propellant is significant as missiles based on it can be more easily used as weapons. Consequently, solid fuel missiles, including Agni-III that was tested last year, enhance the credibility of India's nuclear deterrent.
Signalling that the missile tested today could carry nuclear warheads, Ms. Rao said the launch was part of India's effort to indigenise and ``guarantee credible nuclear deterrence''. The variant, as in the case of other missiles in the Agni family, can carry a one tonne warhead.
President lauds scientists
The President, K.R. Narayanan, congratulated the scientists and those associated with the launch, saying, ``The outstanding achievement of our scientists, as represented by this success, will go a long way in ensuring self-reliance and indigenisation of our defence production capacity.''
The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, termed the launch as a part of ``several steps'' that were being taken to strengthen national security. Agni was an on-going project and the decision to test it in various configurations had been taken earlier. Welcoming the launch, the Home Minister, L.K. Advani, said it had been postponed twice in the recent past.
Reiterating India's intent to include ballistic missiles in its military arsenal, the Defence Minister, George Fernandes, said the test enhanced India's capability in ``deployment'' of such surface-to-surface missile systems.
With the successful testing of the 700 km-range missile, India is now in a position to fill key gaps in its missile arsenal. The new missile will bridge the gap between the 350 km-range Prithvi and the 2,000 km-range Agni-II missile - the two weapon systems that are now undergoing ``serial production''.
The armed forces as of now have a range of weapons to wage battle from a distance. These include artillery guns that have a reach of around 40 km, the recently-acquired Russian-built Smerch multi-barrel rocket system that can target up to a distance of 120 km and the Prithvi missiles that can be used flexibly for landing conventional warheads within a range of 150 to 350 km.
Apart from these missiles, India is acquiring from Russia the ship-based Klub cruise missiles, which have a maximum reach of around 500 km. India and Russia are also developing the `Brahmos' cruise missile, which has a range of 280 km., official sources said. Besides, India reportedly is also developing a submarine-based ballistic missile and is likely to test its launcher shortly.
Analysts said that notwithstanding the official view, today's test could not be seen outside the South Asian ambit involving Pakistan and China - two neigbouring countries that have impressive missile capabilities of their own.
Pakistan, for instance, has tested the variants of the North Korean Nodong series of missiles, including the 1,100 km- range Ghauri that it last tested in April 1999. Besides, it has launched the 700 km-range Shaheen, a variant of the Chinese M-9, and displayed the 2500 km.-range Shaheen-II last year. China, on its part, recently carried out two tests of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) as well as experimented with its submarine-based Julong II.
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