AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,
NEW DELHI: India Sunday successfully carried out a first test of its nuclear-capable Agni-III ballistic missile with a range of 4,000 kilometres (2,480 miles).
The Agni, which is Hindi for fire, is one of five missiles being developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under its Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme launched in 1983,
DESCRIPTION: Agni-III is a surface-to-surface, two-stage missile. Both the stages are powered by solid propellants.
RANGE: 4,000 kilometers (2,480 miles), according to defence ministry
officials, and capable of striking targets deep inside China.
WARHEAD: Agni-III supports a wide range of warheads, conventional and
nuclear, with a payload ranging from 600 to 1,800 kilogrammes (1,320 to 3,960 points) including decoys and other anti-ballistic counter-measures.
OTHER FEATURES: The missile can be deployed using rail or road mobile launch vehicles. Is said to have a high degree of accuracy with a medium to large nuclear payload, most likely a 200 to 300 kilotonne warhead.
THE AGNI SERIES: The short-range Agni-I was first test-fired in 1989.
India last tested the intermediate range Agni-II on August 29, 2004.
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