Agni III missile successfully test-fired

India on Friday successfully carried out the test firing of nuclear capable Agni III missile from a DRDO facility at the Wheelers Island located off the coast of Bhadrak district in north Odisha.

Sources said the 17 meter in height surface-to-surface ballistic missile was test launched from a mobile launcher parked on the launch pad number 4 of the missile testing centre at around 1.15 pm. The missile hit its pre-determined target after a flight of about 15 minutes.

“All mission objectives were achieved during the test flight. The missile hit its target with maximum accuracy,” sources claimed. 

The test firing was delayed by almost three hours due to bad weather.   The missile’s path of journey was monitored by a number of radars installed in different sites along the Odisha coastline.  Two ships of the Indian Navy stationed in the sea also recorded the final events of the test at the target point.

The Agni III missile, indigenously designed and developed by DRDO scientists, has the capability to hit a target at a distance of 3,000 km carrying both conventional as well as nuclear warheads weighing about 1.5 tonne. The missile’s weight is about 48 tonnes.

Agni III, considered a long range missile, had its maiden test launch in July  2006,  which was a failure. However, its second test launch in April 2007,  was a success. Since then, the slick missile has already been successfully test fired several times. It was inducted into the Indian armed forces last year. Sources described the Friday’s test launch as a user trial of the missile.