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India's Agni-2 Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) made another successful test flight on January 17. According to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) which spearheaded the design and development of Agni, this multi-stage missile with a range of 2000km and a solid propulsion system was tested in its final "operation configuration" implying that its design has been frozen. The significance of the test of Agni-2, which is capable of carrying a one tonne conventional or nuclear warhead lies in its linkage with the Pokhran nuclear blasts of 1998. While the Pokhran nuclear blasts, which triggered American sanctions, gave India a capacity to design nuclear warheads, they did not address the question of delivering them. The 17-tonne Agni2 ("fire" in Sanskrit) is built out of lightweight, highperformance composite materials including carbon phenolic and carbon-carbon fibres. This is the fifth time that the Agni-2 missile has been tested since it made its maiden flight from the Interim Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-Sea overlooking the Bay of Bengal on May 22, 1989.