While India insists that its 25 January test of the new single-stage version of the Agni-II met all test objectives, US intelligence says that the warhead did not separate from the missile body. The US confirms that it did fly 700 kilometers as India claimed. The idea of a single-stage version of the Agni-II is that being a solid-fuel missile, it is easier to deploy and use than the liquid-fueled Prithvi, which has a shorter range.--Stephen V Cole