In news– India carried out a successful training launch of an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile, Agni-3 from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha recently.
About the missile-
- Agni-3 is the third entrant in the Agni missile series and was first tested on July 9, 2006 but failed.
- The missile is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and hitting targets 3,500 kilometres away.
- The Agni-3 missile was test fired successfully in its second flight in 2007 and then at its third consecutive launch in 2008.
- The missile’s strike range is between 1,000 km and 2,000 km.
- The Agni-III was developed as the successor to the Agni-II. Designed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Agni-III is a two-stage ballistic missile capable of nuclear weapons delivery.
- The stubby, two-stage solid-fuel missile is compact enough for easy mobility and flexible deployment on a number of surface and sub-surface platforms.
- The Agni series of missiles constitute the backbone of India’s nuclear weapons delivery which also includes the Prithvi short range ballistic missiles and fighter aircraft.
