The maiden test-firing of Agni-5 Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile, scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed at the last moment till Thursday due to bad weather conditions at the test range off the coast of Odisha in the Bay of Bengal.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday took stock of the preparedness of the country's nuclear arsenal with the top security brass, including chiefs of the three services.
Prithvi-II is capable of carrying 500-1,000 kilogram of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines.
This will be the second launch of the 3,000-km range missile after an unsuccessful test on July nine last year from the integrated test range at Wheeler Island near Balasore in Orissa, defence officials said.
The test firing took place at around 8.47 am \n\nfrom the launch complex of the Wheeler's Island located in the Bay of Bengal, off the Orissa coast.
Reacting cautiously to India's test of the Agni 5 missile, China on Thursday said the two countries are not rivals and enjoy "sound" relations.
With this second successful test-firing, India now joins a select group of nations having intermediate range ballistic missiles with range up to 3,000 km. The missile will give the nation the capability to target cities in China like Beijing and Shanghai. The success of Agni-III paves the way for India to build its truly intercontinental range missiles Agni-IV with a range of 5000 km in the near future.
Presently, the US and Russia are the only two countries to possess such sophisticated technology.
India's nuclear strategy, which has traditionally focused on Pakistan, now appears to place increased emphasis on China, the two experts claimed.
An industrial house bred in old-school manufacturing values, Godrej & Boyce has displayed unusual agility to become a trusted builder of advanced weaponry, discovers Ajai Shukla.
Any failure in the launch of the missile, which has a range of 3,000 km, 'would be a great setback to defence scientists', he added.
The missile tested today was 'an improved version of Shaheen-1 with improvements in range and technical parameters'. The military did not specify the range of the missile though the original version of the Hatf-4 had a reach of 750 km. The missile, capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads, can reach targets deep within India
The indigenously developed surface-to-surface missile, blasted off at 10.52 am from a fixed platform with the help of an auto launcher in the launch complex-4 of the ITR, located about 72 km from Balasore, defence sources said.
Continuing its tirade against the successful launch of Agni V, Chinese state media has again accused New Delhi of buckling under pressure from the North Atlantic Treaty organisation to cut down the missile's range from 9,000 km to 5,000 km.
Surface-to-surface Agni V missile is launched from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast on Thursday
Range preparation for the maiden test of India's indigenously developed nuclear capable 'Agni-V' ballistic missile with a strike range of over 5,000 km is "near complete" and the trial is likely to be held from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast this Wednesday.
India's long-criticised Akash anti-aircraft missile is now blazing towards success. After years of rejection from the military, the Akash is being accepted as a world-class missile.
The move comes close on the release of a report by Pentagon, which suggested that China has moved its new advanced longer range CSS-5 missiles close to its border with India and developed contingency plans to shift airborne forces to the region at short notice.
"Agni-1, surface-to-surface single stage missile with 700 km range, will be taken up for test on Sunday," sources said, adding that Defence Research Development Organisation and operational strategic units of army and naval forces would jointly conduct the operation.
After the success of Agni-V project, India is developing an Anti-Radiation Missile which can hugely multiply the strike capabilities by destroying the enemy's advance warning system.
The first test firing of the surface-to-surface missile with a range of over 3,000 km ended in failure on July 9 when, after a smooth take off, it plunged into the sea far short of its intended target.
Nibe Space (NSPL), a subsidiary of Nibe, announced its vision to establish India's first multi-sensor, all-weather, high-revisit Earth observation satellite constellation. Aiming to strengthen India's self-reliance in the strategically crucial defence-space sector, NSPL signed memoranda of agreement with Indian and global partners, including Larsen & Toubro, Centum, AgniKul, Skyroot Aerospace, SpaceFields, SISIR Radar, CYRAN AI Solutions, and Thales Alenia Space as a technology partner.
India succefully test-fired a 3,000-km Agni-III missile on April 12 this year.
The Information Ministry also said Paksitan has a right to launch a pre-emptive strike if India thinks the same way.
The first launch of the missile last year was a failure.
The nuclear-tipped Agni-III has all cities in both Pakistan and China, including Beijing, within its striking range and will be India's second strike deterrent.
Chinese strategic experts have said that India's Agni-V missile has a potential to strike targets 8,000 km away and the launch of the long-range weapon shows that India is making concrete efforts to become a world power.
Delhi's refusal to beat its chest is part of its recent pragmatic approach to foreign and security affairs, says Jyoti Malhotra
Thursday will be former President APJ Abdul Kalam's second death anniversary.
In recent years, India, Pakistan and China have quietly been trying to get their nosecones ahead of each other. One tests a 2000-kilometre range missile and the other responds with a missile that can go up to 2200 kilometres
Observers of India's struggle to design and build defence equipment might wonder why the indigenous missile programme has been so much more successful than many other projects that the Defence Research and Development Organisation has taken up.
As Prithvi has gone into production, one of the products from the assembly line picked up at random might be test-fired.
The Indian troops guarding the nearly 3,500-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) maintained an assertive approach in sync with the broader national security doctrine and procured a variety of military platforms and weapons to enhance their combat capabilities.
Such tests contribute to the charged atmosphere and make it harder to prevent a costly and destabilising nuclear and missile arms race in the region, officials said in Washington.
Defence Research and Development Organisation plans to make the country "missile import free" by 2022, the agency has told the Prime Minister's Office.
China was the first country to export such sensitive equipment to Pakistan
Ordering more Akash systems is essential for the Indian defence industry.
In 2013, India had displayed the Inter Continental Ballistic Missile Agni V during the Republic Day Parade. The chief guest at that time was Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.
India is all set to become member of Missile Technology Control Regime, a key anti-proliferation grouping, as it cleared final hurdles in getting membership of the bloc that will help it access high-end missile technology.
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