Agni III

·         On May 7, 2008 India successfully tested Agni-III, its longest-range 3,000 km, a mobile system capable of being launched from anywhere in India from Bhadrak (Orissa), catapulting India into the select group of nations to have IRBM

·         Agni-III, which is capable of carrying warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes, was tested at exactly 9.56 a.m. from the Inner Wheeler Island at Dhamra, a launch site in Bhadrak district, about 200 km from Orissa capital Bhubaneswar.

·         The missile reached the pre-designated target in 800 seconds, reaching a peak height of 350 km with a velocity of more than 4 km per second.

·         Agni-III, one of the Agni series missiles, is a two stage solid propellant missile with a length 17 metres, diameter of 2 metres and launch weight of 50 tonnes.

·         The missile re-enters the atmosphere at very high velocity and then faces a deceleration of more than 35 times the force of gravity, raising its temperature above 2,500 degrees Celsius. The payload is protected by a carbon-carbon all composite heat shield.

• This was the third test of the missile.

·         The first test, from the same defence base on July 9, 2006 was unsuccessful - the second stage of the rocket had failed to separate from the missile quickly enough and the missile had fallen short of its target.

·         The DRDO-developed missile was tested again on April 12, 2007 and was successful this time.

·         While Agni-I is a 750-800 km short-range missile, Agni-II has a range of more than 1,500 km. Both have already been inducted into the armed forces.