Bad weather delays launch of Agni-V long-range missile
18 Apr 2012
The maiden test-flight of India's first inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), Agni-V, has been postponed till Thursday as bad weather at the test range off the Odisha coast in the Bay of Bengal prevented firing of the missile.
The Defence Research And Development Organisation (DRDO), which developed the missile, said the launch has now been rescheduled for Thursday.
"Due to heavy lightening in the region, the Agni-V launch is postponed for safety reasons," DRDO said.
"The test launch of Agni-V missile has been postponed till tomorrow due to safety reasons. The test has been cancelled as there is heavy lightening in the test range," defence ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar said.
DRDO has a "window period" of two days till 20 April to conduct the test firing of the missile.
Agni-V, a three-stage missile with a range of 5,000 km, will be validated and inducted into the armed forces after several more tests couple of years down the line.