New Delhi, Aug. 31: An Agni II missile test-fired on Sunday 100 days after the Manmohan Singh government took over was the first experiment by the army in a likely war scenario of the nuclear-weapon delivery system.

The missile, which has a range of 2,000-plus km, was configured to fly 1,200 km with a “lofted approach”. The reduced range also probably means that it was fired with a heavier payload to simulate a nuclear warhead.

So far the Agni II had been test-fired by the Defence Research and Development Organisation either for technical corrections or as technology demonstrators. There have been nine test-firings of the Agni series.

The DRDO chief and scientific adviser to the defence minister, V.K. Aatre, said here today that the last test-firing on Sunday was done by the army under the guidance of DRDO scientists. The Agni II was in limited-series production and in the process of being inducted into the army. Test-fired with a “horizontal approach”, the missile is capable of longer ranges.

Aatre retired today. His place as the DRDO head will be taken by M. Natarajan, who headed the DRDO main battle tank programme.

Aatre admitted that there was a slippage in the programme for the long-range (3,000-plus km) Agni III strategic missile that is being prepared. “I would have liked to see it tested before I left. But now it is up to the next man to decide when it will be tested”, he said.

Aatre said the Agni I and the Agni II are “absolutely-developed” missiles. “We have completely-developed systems for these two missiles and a certain number have been delivered to the army.”