Indian Long-Range Missile Test Slated for Next Year

India could conduct its first flight test of a long-range, nuclear-capable missile as soon as early next year as part of an effort to give the nation the ability to threaten targets up to 6,000 kilometers away, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, July 9).

The Agni 4 ballistic missile is set to face its first test “within the first quarter of next year, and another within nine to 12 months,” said M. Natarajan, head of India’s Defense Research and Development Organization.

Addressing the missile’s potential range, Natarajan said, “Although I won't say the exact figure, I would reckon the figure of 5,000 to 6,000 kilometers should be quite adequate for the country's needs.”

India currently deploys two shorter-range missiles, including the Agni 1, with a 700-kilometer range (see GSN, Oct. 25), and the Agni 2, which can fly 2,500 kilometers.  A 4,000-kilometer-range Agni 3 system is also under development, AFP reported (see GSN, April 12; Pratap Chakravarty, Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Dec. 12).

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