India’s indigenous long-range nuclear- capable Agni-III missile, test fired on Sunday, catapulted the country into a select group of nations that have intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM)-capability, defence sources said.
Capable of carrying warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes, the 3,000-km range missile was tested from the Inner Wheeler Island at Dhamra, a launch site in Bhadrak district, about 200 km from Orissa capital Bhubaneswar, at 10.46 a.m.
This is the fourth test of the missile. The first test on July 9, 2006 was unsuccessful as the second stage of the rocket had failed to separate from the missile quickly enough and the missile had fallen short of its target.
The second and third test of the DRDO-developed missiles were successful. They were tested on April 12, 2007, and May 9, 2008, respectively.
Agni-III, one of the Agni series missiles, is a two-stage solid propellant missile with a length of 17 mt, diameter 2 mt and launch weight of 50 tonnes. Agni-I is a 750-800 km short-range missile, and Agni-II has a range of more than India’s longest range nuclear-capable.
V.K. Saraswat, Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and Director-General, DRDO, said it was a fantastic launch and a “hat-trick for Agni-III with three successes”. The trajectory went perfectly according to plan till the last decimal place, he said. “It gave us full range and pinpoint accuracy,” he added.
A top DRDO missile technologist said the mission was a “good success and the trajectory of the flight was excellent. Everything worked well, including all payload systems”, he added.
Even though the missile did not carry a live warhead, its nuclear triggering mechanism worked well. Instead of a nuclear warhead, it carried chemical explosives, the missile technologist added.
The success of the Agni-III flight on Sunday, according to them, sent out several signals: it has become a proven missile; the decks have been cleared for its induction with nuclear warheads, into the Army; it established the maturity of India’s nuclear deterrence programme and its second-strike capability.
- Asian Tribune -
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