A weapons test, by itself, is generally not a headline event, particularly for countries like India, with a wide-ranging arsenal of short-, medium-, and long-range missiles.
This, however, was no ordinary missile test.
The nuclear-capable Agni Prime - with a range of 2,000 km - was fired from a launch bed pulled by an Indian Railways locomotive. That meant India joined an elite list - Russia, the United States, and China - capable, or which had the capability, of firing railcar-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs.
North Korea has claimed similar capacities; in 2021 it said missiles launched from a 'railway-borne system' travelled 800 km before striking a target off its eastern coast. Japan and South Korea confirmed the launch, though they could not confirm the platform.
"... the first-of-its-kind launch was carried out from a specially-designed, rail-based mobile launcher," the Defence Minister said, "... has the capability to move on the rail network without pre-conditions (and) that allows shorter reaction time and cross-country mobility."
"This successful test has put India in a group of select nations that have developed canisterised-launch systems from on-the-move rail networks."
MNA/
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