India Integrating Agni-2 Into Armed Forces
India’s medium-range, nuclear-capable Agni-2 ballistic missile
has entered full-scale production and is being integrated into the
Indian armed forces, according to a letter by Indian Defense Minister
George Fernandes dated March 14. It is not known whether the missile
has been outfitted with a nuclear warhead.
In a written reply to a query posed by a member of the Indian parliament,
Fernandes confirmed that the missile, most recently tested in January
2001, had “entered [the] production phase and is currently
under induction.” After last year’s test, the Indian Defense
Ministry stated that the missile had reached its “final operational
configuration.” (See ACT,
March 2001.)
Although Indian officials had stated after the January 2001 test
that the missile would be introduced into the Indian arsenal later
that year, the Defense Ministry later amended that estimate, noting
that the planned “induction” would occur during 2001 or
2002.
The road-mobile, two-stage, solid-fueled Agni-2 is New Delhi’s
most advanced missile system. It is capable of delivering a 1,000-kilogram
payload more than 2,000 kilometers, allowing it to reach targets
throughout Pakistan and much of western China.
India’s most recent missile test occurred in January 2002,
when it tested a short-range variant of the Agni-1 missile. (See
ACT, March 2002.)
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