India successfully test-fires Agni III missile

Bhubaneswar April 27 (IANS) 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 a.m. sources in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said.

The Strategic Forces Command an especially raised missile-handling unit of the Indian Army carried out the test with logistics support from DRDO.

Agni-III has a strike range of more than 3 000 km and 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. With a length of 17 metres the missile s diameter is 2 metres and weight is around 2 200 kg.

The missile was inducted in the armed forces in June 2011.

--IANS
cd/sm/vm