Balasore: India successfully test-fired its advanced Agni Prime missile, a game-changer in its defence arsenal, from a rail-based mobile launcher off the Odisha coast.
With a strike range of 1,000 to 2,000 kilometres, this intermediate-range ballistic missile enhances India’s strategic capabilities, delivering precise and devastating strikes.
The test, conducted by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), marks a historic milestone as the missile was launched from a specially designed rail-mobile system, a first-of-its-kind feat.
This technology allows the missile to be transported across India’s vast rail network and deployed swiftly, ensuring a rapid response without detection. Housed in a robust canister, the missile requires minimal maintenance, is weather-resistant, and can be launched with little preparation, earning it the moniker “Silent Strike Missile”.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh lauded DRDO’s achievement, highlighting that the rail-based launcher operates seamlessly across any rail network. This positions India among an elite group of nations with canisterised, rail-mobile missile systems. Equipped with advanced inertial navigation and satellite guidance, the lightweight and compact Agni Prime is a technological leap over its predecessors, Agni-1 to Agni-4, with ranges of 700 to 3,500 kilometres.
Designed for nuclear warheads, the missile’s dual-stage solid fuel enhances reliability and speed. Its successful test during Navratri symbolises a new era of strength for the Indian armed forces, poised to counter threats with unmatched precision.