India successfully test-fires short-range, nuclear-capable missile

 

NEW DELHI — India test-fired a short-range, nuclear-capable missile Thursday that hit its target accurately, the defense ministry said.

India Unveils Shaurya – Submarine Launched Missile

One of the new weapon systems on show was the Shaurya missile – a submarine-launched medium-range ballistic missile, capable of carrying one ton of a conventional, or nuclear armed warhead over a range of 750 km. The Shaurya is specially designed for the new Indian submarines, offering India ‘second strike’ capability, significantly adding to the country’s strategic deterrence. Together with the Agni III missile, that has a range of 3500 km, Shaurya could reach all major cities in mainland China, like Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai, when launched from a submarine off the China coast. It can also cover all the area of Pakistan from off-shore positions in the Arabian Sea. India’s first nuclear-powered submarine, INS Arihant is currently under construction and could be equipped with the new missile. Shaurya was developed in parallel to the K-15 ‘Sagarika’ ballistic missile, built with significant help from Russia.

India to Test Missile With 3,100-Mile Range

India's Chief Military Scientist V.K. Saraswat and Program Director AGNI Missile Avinash Chander

India is moving quickly from the success of is most recent missile launch. They announced an ambitious goal of testing a missile with a range of almost 1,100 more miles. We will just have to wait and see if they live up to this goal.

India will test a new nuclear-capable missile with a range of more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) in a year’s time, the country’s top military scientist said Wednesday.

India’s current longest-range missile is the Agni-III missile with a range of 3,000 kilometers (1,900 miles), which its military test-fired on Sunday. That missile is already capable of reaching targets not only across historic rival, Pakistan, but also major cities in China and the Middle East.

V.K. Saraswat, India’s chief military scientist, said the new missile, Agni-V, would be a land-based system with a range of over 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles).

India Successfully Tests Nuclear-capable Missile

NEW DELHI — India again successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable missile Sunday that can hit targets across much of Asia and the Middle East, a defense ministry press release said.

It was the fourth test of the Agni III missile, the statement added. The first attempt in 2006 failed, but the last two tests were successful.

“The Agni III missile tested for the full range, hit the target with pinpoint accuracy and met all the mission objectives,” the press release added.