Agni Iii
Agni III doesn’t depend on ground systems. While in flight, it needs no communication from outside forces and is intelligent enough to calculate the target position it is designed to reach.1
New Delhi, May 6:India is set to test fire its long-range nuclear-capable Agni-III ballistic missile on Wednesday from the Chandipur Integrated Test Range off the Orissa coast. This will be the third test firing of the 3,500-km surface-to-surface missile that has been dubbed as a ?China specific? missile by military analysts.2
Agni-III, one of the Agni series missiles, is capable of carrying warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes, is 16 metres tall and weighs 48 tonnes. It can hit a target located at a distance of up to 3,000 km.3
A total of 258 private firms and 20 DRDO laboratories were involved in production of AGNI III. The test validated all technical objectives of the mission and there is no doubt that this has been a singular success of the DRDO as the programme is entirely indigenous and the many impediments placed under the Missile Technology Control Regime.4
The latest Agni-III test can be seen as a signal to India’s regional rivals. India’s two potential adversaries, China and Pakistan, both possess nuclear-capable ballistic missiles that can cover much of India.5
Defence sources said, Agni-III, which is a new system, is a short and stubby, two-stage, long-range missile that weighs 48.3 tonnes and is 16.7 metres tall with an overall diameter of 1.8 meters. It can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads weighing around 1.5 tonnes.6