Agni-II update

India’s nuclearcapable intermediate range Agni-II missile, test-fired for the first time after sunset on Monday, reportedly failed to get the desired results. The army testfired the surface-to-surface Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) from Wheeler’s Island, district Bhadrak, around 7.50 p.m. “The lift-off and the first stage separation was smooth. But it faltered just before the second stage separation and behaved erratically, deviating from its coordinated path. Further analysis is on to ascertain the cause,’’ said a reliable source involved with the mission. The entire trajectory of Monday’s trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and a naval ship located near the impact point, the sources said. The launch, originally scheduled in the first week of this month, was deferred due to some technical snags in its pneumatic system. Though the snags were rectified, another glitch surfaced during Monday’s test, leading to the fiasco, the source claimed. The nuclear-capable 2,000-km-plus range missile was first tested in April 11, 1999.