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2,500-km plus Agni-II almost ready

The 2,500-km plus Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile Agni-II is almost ready and will be testfired for the first time in the ''very near future'', defence ministry sources said today.

''The development of the superior Agni-II has reached a definitive stage,'' the sources confirmed.

The development of the second phase of the longer-range, improved Agni was given the go-ahead by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government at the Centre soon after assuming office.

The first phase of 1,500-km Agni, a technology demonstrator perfecting re-entry technology, has been successfully completed and the previous United Front government had said that the second phase was ''top priority''.

The 1,500-km range first Agni has been testfired thrice.

The improved second Agni is understood to possess top-of-the-line technologies besides an extended range.

It is understood that the upgraded version of the ballistic missile will be tipped with a 1,000-kg warhead.

The sources said it would be possible to extend the range of the improved Agni up to 3,000 km with a smaller and lighter warhead.

It was disclosed that the new Agni would also have an improved circular error probability. It is understood that Agni-I has a CEP of 40 metres.

CEP is the measurement used to define the accuracy of a missile in hitting its target.

The technology demonstrator tests of Agni-I had been completed in 1994 during the time of the P V Narasimha Rao government.

UNI

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