India tests nuclear-capable Agni-III ballistic missile

By NewsGram Staff Writer

After Pakistan successfully test-fired Ghauri Missile System carrying nuclear warheads up to 1300 km on Wednesday, India, without delay tested its nuclear-capable Agni-III ballistic missile with a strike range of more than 3,000 km, today.

The army test fired the surface-to-surface developed missile from a mobile launcher at complex-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island off Odisha coast.

The Agni-III missile is powered by a two-stage solid propellant system with a length of 17 meters, diameter of 2 meters and launch weight of around 50 tones. It can also carry a warhead of 1.5 tones which is protected by carbon heat shield.

"The trial, carried out by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC of the Indian Army), was fully successful," said ITR Director MVKV Prasad.

Logistic support for the test was provided by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

"It was the third user trial in the Agni-III series carried out to establish the 'repeatability' of the missile's performance," a DRDO official said.

The trial was monitored through various telemetry stations, electro-optic systems and sophisticated radars located along the coast and by naval ships anchored near the impact point for data analyses.

The missile equipped with hybrid navigation, guidance and control systems along with advanced on board computer, is already inducted into the armed forces.

"The electronic systems connected with the missile are hardened for higher vibration, thermal and acoustic effects," said a DRDO scientist.

Source: PTI