India extends Notam range to 3,760km for Odisha coast missile test
RNA illustration. (Map not to scale)
New Delhi: India has widened the flight corridor for its planned long-range missile test off the Odisha coast to nearly 3,760 kilometres, up from the 2,530-kilometre range notified earlier, as reported earlier by RNA Media. The test window itself has not changed and remains active from August 6 to 7.
The longer range has reignited debate over which weapon system is being prepared for trial. The launch site, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, is where India regularly conducts trials of its long-range missile systems.
Given the extended distance, defence watchers believe the trial may involve either an upgraded Agni-series missile or the K-4 submarine-launched ballistic missile, both systems India has been refining for accuracy, re-entry handling and thrust performance in recent tests.
This marks India’s second long-range notice off the Odisha coast this year. A similar exercise in May, covering roughly 3,560 kilometres, was later confirmed by the defence ministry as a trial of an advanced Agni missile carrying a multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) payload, with separate warheads aimed at different points across the Indian Ocean region.
Attention also continues to centre on the Agni-6, India’s intercontinental ballistic missile still in development, with a strike range expected to exceed 10,000 kilometres. The former DRDO chairman, Samir V Kamat, has previously said the missile is technically ready and needs only final government approval before testing can begin.
The government has not confirmed the specific system to be tested this week. As with previous trials, official word is unlikely before the missile has actually flown.
