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The medium-range ballistic missile Agni-4 was successfully test-fired on 6 August 2026 from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, Odisha.
The launch validated all operational and technical parameters of the weapon system.
The test was carried out under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command, jointly with the DRDO.
The tri-service command responsible for the management and administration of India's nuclear arsenal and delivery systems, and for conducting strategic missile tests. It operates under the Nuclear Command Authority.
Develops India's missile systems, including the Agni series, and conducts launches jointly with the SFC. Its scientists monitored the flight through radars, telemetry stations and electro-optical systems.
DRDO's principal missile testing facility, on the Odisha coast, used for trials of tactical and strategic missile systems.
A ballistic missile is powered only during its initial boost phase and then follows an unpowered, largely parabolic trajectory to its target, unlike a cruise missile which is powered and guided throughout. Missiles are classed by range: short-range (up to about 1,000 km), medium-range (roughly 1,000 to 3,000 km), intermediate-range (about 3,000 to 5,500 km) and intercontinental (beyond 5,500 km). The Agni family is India's land-based strategic ballistic missile series, developed by DRDO and originating in the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, which also produced Prithvi, Trishul, Akash and Nag. Agni-4, at about 4,000 km, sits at the upper end of the medium-range band and is described by the Ministry of Defence as a medium-range ballistic missile. Two design features matter for exams: it is solid-fuelled in two stages, which allows storage in a ready state rather than fuelling before launch, and it is road-mobile with canister-based launch, meaning the missile travels sealed in its launch container. Both features shorten reaction time and make the system harder to locate and target - the survivability that underpins a credible second-strike posture.
Simple Analogy: A canisterised, road-mobile missile is like a fire extinguisher on a truck rather than a hose plumbed to one wall - it is ready instantly and it can be anywhere.
General Knowledge > Defence Technology and Missile Systems
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Missile tests are among the most frequently asked defence current-affairs items across SSC, Railway, Banking and Defence exams, and appear in UPSC Prelims science and technology.
A missile powered only in its boost phase, thereafter following an unpowered trajectory - unlike a cruise missile, which is powered throughout.
The tri-service command managing India's nuclear delivery systems, functioning under the Nuclear Command Authority.
Storing and launching a missile sealed inside its container, allowing rapid deployment and longer storage in a ready state.
Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme - the DRDO programme that originated Agni, Prithvi, Trishul, Akash and Nag.
Broadly a missile of roughly 1,000 to 3,000 km range; Agni-4 at about 4,000 km sits at the upper end of how the Ministry of Defence classifies it.