India flight-tests new generation Agni Prime ballistic missile

NEW DELHI

India has successfully flight-tested the new generation Agni Prime ballistic missile, the country’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

The Strategic Forces Command, along with the Defense Research and Development Organization, conducted the flight test from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha state on Wednesday evening, the ministry said in a statement.

“The test met all the trial objectives validating its reliable performance, as confirmed from the data captured by a number of range sensors deployed at different locations, including two downrange ships placed at the terminal point,” the ministry said, adding that senior defense officials witnessed the launch.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said the “successful development and induction of the missile will be an excellent force multiplier for the armed forces.”

India last month conducted the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-V missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology, which can deliver multiple warheads from a single missile.