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(May 1999)

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AGNI-II LAUNCHED   - April 11, 1999

AGNI-II was launched at 9.47 A.M. today from a new Launching site on the Orissa Coast. This information was given by the Defence Minister, Shri George Fernandes at a news conference here today. The missile reached the point of impact in 11 minutes as scheduled. The launching of the missile was tracked by a network of stations and also Naval ships all the way down to the impact point.

Shri Fernandes said the salient feature of AGNI-II and the significance of today’s tests were :

We have reached to the point of operationalisation of AGNI as a weapon system;

Today’s launch demonstrated our mobile launch capability.

This is a solid propulsion system. The range is in excess of 2000 kms.

All the features are designed to carry special weapon payload. It has state-of-the-art navigation guidance and controls and sophisticated onboard packages and advanced communication interface.

Shri Fernandes said today was a great day for India and the most satisfying was the fact that the launch took place at the scheduled time without any hitch whatsoever. The entire flight of the missile from the launch point to the impact point was under constant observation. It demonstrated that we have achieved perfection of a very high order in missile technology.

Shri Fernandes said he was impressed by the extraordinary team work of all those involved in the launch and also networking. Our scientific community has shown its capabilities and its dedication. The Prime Minister, Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee took tremendous interest in the project and gave support to the Defence Ministry and DRDO to go ahead with it, Shri Fernandes said.

The Defence Minister said that the Government first through POKHRAN tests and now by operationalising AGNI-II has shown that no one can put pressure on us when we take steps to see that nation’s security concerns are taken care of.