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India Gears Up To Test Fire Agni V, A Missile Capable Of Reaching As Far As Beijing

The test will take place by the end of December of early January.
A surface-to-surface Agni V missile is launched from the Wheeler Island off the eastern Indian state of Odisha in 2012.
Handout . / Reuters
A surface-to-surface Agni V missile is launched from the Wheeler Island off the eastern Indian state of Odisha in 2012.

After DRDO announcing a glitch earlier this year, India is all set to its Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), that can reportedly reach as far as Beijing in China, after two years at the end of December of beginning of January.

Reports suggest that preparations are in full swing for the launch. The Times of India quoted a source as saying, "There were some minor technical snags in Agni-V, which required tweaking of its internal battery and electronic configurations after its last test in January 2015."

The missile was first tested in April 2012 and again in September 2013.

""This will be the final test of the three-stage Agni-V, which will be tested for its full range, before the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) begins its user trials," The Times of India quoted sources as saying.

DRDO chief Avinash Chander, known as the man behind the Agni missiles, had conducted the last test on January 31, 2015 from a mobile canister on the last day of his tenure, IANS had reported.

IANS reported that the Agni-V, that has a 5,000 km range which gives it the farthest reach among all Indian missiles, is the most advanced version of the indigenously built Agni missiles.

There are other Agni missile that are already inducted in the armed forces and can reach Pakistan and western parts of China. It has a three-stage missile designed to carry an over one-tonne warhead.

(With inputs from agencies)

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.