India successfully tests new version of medium-range ballistic missile

INDIA on Tuesday successfully launched a new version of Medium-Range Ballistic Missile capable of striking targets at distances exceeding 250 km.

“A successful launch of the new variant of a Medium-Range Ballistic Missile was carried out under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command on April 23, 2024. The user launch has proven the operational capability of the Command and validated new technologies."

The Defence Ministry in a release said the user launch has proven the operational capability of the missile with new technologies.

The test firing was conducted under the aegis of the strategic forces command, the release further added.

Meanwhile, news agency PTI reported that the new version of Medium-Range Ballistic Missile is not from the 'Agni' family of weapons systems.

Earlier on April 18, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted a test flight of an Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile (ITCM) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.

During the test, all subsystems performed as per expectation. The missile performance was monitored by several Range Sensors like Radar, Electro-Optical Tracking System (EOTS) and Telemetry deployed by ITR at different locations to ensure complete coverage of the flight path.

“The missile followed the desired path using waypoint navigation and demonstrated very low altitude sea-skimming flight," the Defence Ministry said in a release.

The missile was developed by Bengaluru-based DRDO laboratory Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) along with contributions from other laboratories and Indian industries.