India Successfully Tests Agni-4 IRBM Missile off Odisha Coast

India successfully launched the Agni-4 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur off the Odisha coast. The Agni-4 missile, with a strike range of 4,000 km, met all operational and technical parameters, according to a defence ministry official.

This launch follows India’s recent induction of its second nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), INS Arighaat, into the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) on August 29. Unlike its predecessor, INS Arihant, which carries 750-km range K-15 missiles, INS Arighaat is equipped with K-4 missiles capable of a 3,000-km range.

India’s third SSBN, INS Aridhaman, is set to be commissioned early next year. With a displacement of 7,000 tonnes, it will be larger than the first two SSBNs and capable of carrying more long-range nuclear-tipped missiles.