Agni-III test-fired successfully, ready for induction into Armed Forces

File photo of AGNI-III Missile during the 60th Republic Day Parade-2009, in New Delhi on January 26, 2009.

India today successfully conducted the fourth test flight of its indigenous long-range nuclear-capable missile Agni-III missile, with a range of 3500 km, from the Wheeler Island in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Orissa.

The test was the fourth and last pre-induction trial of the missile. "Now the missile system will be fully inducted into the Armed Forces," an official press release said.

The flight was conducted at 1050 hours by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The missile tested for the full range, hit the target with pin-point accuracy and met all the mission objectives, the release said.

It said two down range ships located near the target tracked and witnessed the missile reaching the target accurately.

The marker pen-like Agni-3 missile is 17 metres long and 2 metres in diameter. The missile is a two-stage solid propellant system with a payload capability of 1.5 tonnes.

According to the release, during the course of the flight, the missile reached a peak height of 350 km and re-entered into the atmosphere successfully, tolerating the skin temperatures of nearly 3000 degrees Celsius.

The release said the missile was equipped with a state-of-the-art computer system, navigated with a most advanced navigation system and guided with an innovative guidance scheme. The navigation system used for guidance is the first of its kind.

The release said a number of radars and electro-optical tracking systems along the coast of Orissa had monitored the path of the missile and evaluated all the parameters in real time.

It said the Indian Army, the user, had carried out the total launch operations guided by the DRDO scientists.

The release said the complete missile integration and launch activities were guided and controlled by Mission Director Avinash Chander and Project Director V.G. Sekaran under the overall supervision of Dr V K Saraswat, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and Director General of DRDO.

NNN