Agni-II Prime N-capable missile test-fired

Balasore (Odisha): Adding teeth to its nuclear deterrence, India on Tuesday successfully test-fired an advanced variant of nuclear-capable Agni-II ballistic missile with a strike range of 3,000 km from an island off Odisha coast.

"The surface-to-surface intermediate range missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher" at 0900 hours from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island, about 100 km from Balasore, defence sources said.

Christened "Agni-II Prime", the new missile is a two-stage weapon system powered by solid propellant. It is 20 metres long and launch weight is 17 tonnes. It can carry one tonne pay-load.

A Defence Ministry spokesman said in Delhi that from now on, the missile would be called 'Agni-IV'.

Describing the test-firing as "successful", defence sources said the missile