India testfires nuclear ballistic ‘Agni-IV’ missile

NEW DELHI, Dec 23 (Xinhua): India successfully testfired a nuclear-capable long range ballistic missile 'Agni-IV' with a strike range of 4000 kilometres on Sunday.

The strategic surface-to-surface missile was flight tested from the integrated test range at Dr Abdul Kalam island off the coast of eastern state of Odisha.

The missile test fired is 20 metres long and weighs nearly 17 tonnes.

This was the seventh trial of the Agni-IV missile. The test was described as a "complete success" as all mission objectives were met during the test-fire.

All radars, tracking systems and range stations tracked and monitored the flight performance of the missile.

The launch is part of a user trial by the Indian Army. Ballistic missile like "Agni-I," "Agni-II," "Agni-III" and "Prithvi" have been included in the arsenal of the armed forces.