Bhubaneswar: India on Thursday successfully test-fired its intermediate-range ballistic missile Agni-III from Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast.
The missile lifted off from launch pad No 4 of the Integrated Test Range located on the island at 9.12 am, sources in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said.
This was a user test, undertaken by the Strategic Forces Command — an especially raised missile-handling unit of the Indian Army. It carried out the test with logistics support from the DRDO.
Agni-III is the mainstay of India’s nuclear arsenal, and the missile used for the test was randomly chosen from the assembly line, according to sources.
The missile has a strike range of 3,000 km to 5,000 km and is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes.
The missile is powered by a two-stage solid propellant engine. The missile is 17 metres long, with two-metre diameter, and weighs around 2,200 kg.
The missile was inducted into the armed forces in June 2011.
This test comes less than a week after the Indian Navy test-fired a land attack version of BrahMos from a naval ship.
India also recently tested BrahMos missile with an extended 450 km range, has undertaken a drop test of the air version of BrahMos, exo-atmospheric Prithvi Defence Vehicle (PDV) interceptor missile and endo-atmospheric Advanced Air Defence missile, both part of a two-tier anti-ballistic missile system, Agni IV and Agni V in the last six months.