Click to play videoNew Delhi: India on Wednesday test-fired the 3500 km range surface-to-surface nuclear capable Agni-III missile.
It is seen as a huge boost for India's defence capability meant to deter the threat of a Chinese attack.
The intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) was test-fired from a mobile launcher from the launch complex (LC-4) of the integrated test range (ITR) at about 0956 hours, defence sources told a news agency.
The test firing comes as Beijing has stepped up its offensive on the cyberspace with reports of repeated infiltration into Indian government websites including the national informatics center and the MEA.
Incidentally, the test firing comes just ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests.
Weighing about 48 tonnes, the Agni-3 missile was first test-fired on July 9, 2006 but it failed to meet its mission objectives due to cascaded failure of booster flex nozzle controller.
However, during the second test conducted on April 12, 2007, the entire flight path of 15 minutes duration validated all mission objectives, they said.
Though defence scientists had planned only three tests of the missile before its induction, more tests would now be required to prove its robustness due to the failure of the first test flight, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) sources said.
Agni-III is the country's first solid fuel missile that is compact and small enough for easy mobility and can be easily packaged for deployment on a variety of surface and sub-surface platform.
With PTI inputs
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