After a thorough interrogation and search Indian authorities confirmed that the military cargo aircraft, which has landed in Mumbai air port yesterday was carrying medicines to the US troops operating in Afghanistan and no weapons or ammunition were on board said IAF spokesperson Wg Cdr Tarun Kumar Singha.
Speaking to ANI Wg Cdr Singha said the aircraft was hired by the US military, from a Russian agency. All the 18 persons including the crewmembers who were in the aircraft were civilians and belonged to the Russian agency.
The hired military cargo aircraft violated the Indian air space near Gujarat yesterday and was forced to land at Mumbai's Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
The aircraft was travelling from Diego Garcia island, a military base of the US near Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, to Kandahar in Afghanistan.
Wg Cdr Singha said that according to norms any hired civilian aircrafts for the military purposes has to get an AOR clearance form the IAF on this case the Russian agency did not obtain the clearance, the Mumbai ATR instructed the captain to land the aircraft.
He denied the report of IAF planes escorting the intruded aircraft and said the pilot followed the instruction given by the ATR, so the question of escort does not arise.
The Indian authorities have given the clearance to the aircraft to fly. Shreeraj Gudi
India on Tuesday successfully tested the nuclear capable Agni-II missile at Wheelers Island near Balasore in Orissa.
According to a senior Defence Ministry official, Agni-II missile is the surface-to-surface missile with a range of over 2,000 km.
"It was a user trial. The aim of the test is to give the Army confidence to fire the missile on its own," the official said.
The Agni II missile, which is 20 metres long and 16 tones heavy, can carry a payload of around 1,000 kg and its range can also be increased to 3,000 km by reducing the pay load.
"It can be fired from both rail and road mobile launchers. It takes only 15 minutes for the missile to be readied for firing," the official added.
The missile has been developed with technical assistance from the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization for the Indian Army.