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Ministry denies reports on Agni

Test-firing of the miniaturised nuclear warhead-tipped improved ballistic missile Agni is not scheduled, the defence ministry said today.

''There is no truth in reports that test-firing of the upgraded version of the Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (Agni) is to take place in August,'' a ministry of defence spokesman stated categorically.

The spokesman was reacting to reports that the green signal for the test-firing of the indigenously-developed missile had been given by the ministry to the Defence Research and Development Organisation during a recent meeting with Scientific Advisor to the defence minister, A P J Abdul Kalam.

The upgraded version of the missile will have a range of 2,000 km with a 1,000-kg warhead. The Agni has already been successfully tested over a range of 1,500 km with a reported circular error probability of 40 metres, making it one of the most accurate missiles in its class.

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