India stands tall today: Antony on Agni 5 launch

Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday described the maiden test flight of the Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile Agni 5 as an "immaculate success" and a "major milestone".

"The nation stands tall today. We have joined the elite club of nations (to possess the ICBM capability)," Antony told Defence Research and Development Organisation chief Dr V K Saraswat on the phone after the test flight of the missile was declared successful today.

"The immaculate success of the Agni 5 is a major milestone in the country's missile research and development programme," he said.

The 5,000 km range Agni 5 missile was launched from a test range at Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha at 8.07 am. It took 15 minutes to reach its target in Southern Indian Ocean.

The missile achieved all the mission parameters and has turned out to be a huge success, defence ministry officials said.

The launch was cancelled on Wednesday night due to bad weather and a spate of heavy lightning in the test range.

Antony also spoke to the Agni 5 project director Dr Avinash Chander and congratulated his entire team for their hard work and dedication.

DRDO took four years to develop the missile.

In his conversation with Dr Saraswat and Dr Chander, Antony told them that the nation is proud of its defence scientists.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated all the scientific and technical personnel of the DRDO and other related organisations for the successful launch.
 
"I congratulate all the scientific and technical personnel of the DRDO and other organisations who have worked tirelessly in our endeavour to strengthen the defence and security of our country," Dr Singh said.
 
"Today's successful Agni 5 test launch represents another milestone in our quest to add to the credibility of our security and preparedness and to continuously explore the frontiers of science. The nation stands together in honouring the scientific community," he added.