India Successfully Test Fires Nuclear Ballistic Agni-III Missile

India has successfully test-fired nuclear ballistic missile Agni-III for a lesser range from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast on Thursday.

The missile has a strike range of more than 3,000 km.

The indigenously developed surface-to-surface missile was test fired from a mobile launcher at launch complex-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island by army at about 0955 hrs, defense sources said.

“The trial, carried out by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC of the Indian Army), was fully successful,” ITR Director M V K V Prasad told PTI.

Logistic support for the test was provided by the Defense Research and Development Organisation (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.

For data analyses, the entire trajectory of today’s 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, the sources said.

The Agni-III missile is powered by a two-stage solid propellant system. With a length of 17 meters, the missile’s diameter is 2 meters and launch weight is around 50 ton. It can carry a warhead of 1.5 ton which is protected by carbon all composite heat shield.

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

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