Agni 5 ICBM test called off

5,000-km range Agni V to be tested on Thursday after inclement weather postpones launch

rohan

Rohan Ramesh | April 18, 2012



India on Wednesday postponed the scheduled first flight test of Agni-5 missile, from Wheeler Island, off the Odisha coast. Agni 5 is India's maiden attempt at an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM).


The proposed test was called of and bad weather conditions were cited as the reason. “Due to heavy lightning in the region, the Agni-5 launch is postponed for safety reasons,” said Ravi Kumar Gupta, director, directorate of public interface, Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), in an article in the Hindustan Times.


The test has been tentatively rescheduled for Thursday. The test was actually set to be conducted on Wednesday, but inclement weather changed the minds of the missile men who decided the next two days also been kept on reserve considering the unpredictable weather conditions.


The defence and strategic establishment had been waiting with bated breath for the the flight test of the indigenously built 5000km-range missile.
A successful launch will ultimately catapult India into an exclusive club of countries like USA, Russia, China and France who possess ICBMs in their inventories.

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