NEW DELHI, 8 May 2008 — India joined the ranks of nations possessing intermediate-range missile capabilities with the successful launch of Agni-III missile yesterday. The test came days ahead of the 10th anniversary of 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests.

The “golden launch” of Agni-III was conducted by the Defense Research and Development Organization, a department of the Defense Ministry.

It marked the third test of the Agni-III missile — India’s longest-range ballistic missile — and was staged “to establish the repeatability of the missile’s performance,” Defense Ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar told AFP.

The missile was fired from a mobile launcher yesterday morning at a testing site on Wheeler Island off the coast of the eastern state of Orissa.

Kar said the launch “propelled India into a select group of countries with intermediate-range ballistic missile capabilities and added yet another dimension to national deterrence.” The missile, which has a 3,000-kilometer (1,860-mile) range, can carry conventional or nuclear payloads of 1.5 tons, and puts China’s major cities such as Shanghai within striking distance, defense analysts say.

The surface-to-surface projectile reached its designated target in 13 minutes and 20 seconds “traveling through a peak height of 350 kilometers with a velocity of more than 4,000 meters per second,” said Kar. The Agni-III — Agni means fire in Sanskrit — was first tested in 2006. But that first trial of the 1.8 meter-diameter missile was a flop when it rose 12 kilometers before crashing into the Bay of Bengal.

In yesterday’s test, 180 kilometers northeast of Orissa’s state capital Bhubaneswar, “all the sub-systems of the missile functioned in a copybook manner, giving an outstanding integrated performance of the missile in terms of range and accuracy,” Kar said. The missile is one of a series developed as part of India’s deterrence strategy against neighboring China and Pakistan, which also have nuclear weapons, analysts say.

All the subsystems of the missile functioned in a copybook manner giving an outstanding integrated performance of the missile in terms of range and accuracy,” a government statement said.

“The missile was tracked by various telemetry stations, electro optic systems and radars located along the coast, Port Blair and by the downrange ships positioned near the target location. The data from the various stations is transmitted in real time through an advanced communication network of DRDO for online performance evaluation and range safety,” a government statement said.

“With this launch, the developmental flights of Agni-III are complete and the system is ready for induction into the armed forces,” Agni program director Avinash Chander said.

— With input from agencies