India carries out training launch of Agni-1 ballistic missile

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) - India on Thursday conducted a training launch of a medium-range ballistic missile, Agni-1, the country’s Defense Ministry said.

The launch was carried out by the Strategic Forces Command from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, in eastern Odisha province, according to a ministry statement.

"The missile is a proven system capable of striking targets with a very high degree of precision," the ministry said, adding that "the user training launch successfully validated all operational and technical parameters of the missile."

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based nonprofit policy research organization, Agni-I is an Indian short-range ballistic missile with a range of 700 kilometers (434 miles).

"The Indian Army’s Strategic Forces Command first deployed the nuclear-capable, road-mobile missile in 2007," it said.

Today's launch came days after India conducted a maiden test-firing of a medium-range surface-to-air missile (MRSAM) by an indigenously built guided missile destroyer.

Last month, India's Western Naval Command termed the maiden MRSAM missile firing by Indian Navy Ship Mormugao as "yet another milestone in Indian Navy's quest for accurate delivery of Ordnance on Target."