NEW DELHI, 13 April 2007 — India yesterday successfully tested its most powerful nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile, which can reach targets in Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai, sources said.
The Agni III missile, with a range of more than 3,000 km, was test fired at 10:52 a.m. from launching complex No. 4 of the Inner Wheeler Island, a new launch site of the Integrated Test Range at the Chandipur defense base, 230 km from Orissa’s state capital Bhubaneswar.
“The 16-meter-long missile weighing 48 tons lifted off successfully from its rail mobile launcher system leaving a trail of orange and yellow smoke,” India’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
“The entire flight path of approximately 15 minutes duration validated all mission objectives,” the statement said, adding the test “confirmed India’s strategic capability for minimum credible deterrence.”
The ministry gave the range of the missile tested Thursday as more than 3,000 km and said it was capable of carrying a nuclear or conventional payload of 1.5 tons.
Agni III is capable of reaching strategic targets deep inside China, such as Beijing and Shanghai, but falls short of being an inter-continental ballistic missile — which requires an effective range exceeding 5,000 km.
China reacted swiftly saying it hoped that India, “as a country with an important influence in this region, can work to maintain and promote peace and stability in the region.
“We hope they can make a positive contribution in this regard and play a positive role,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in Beijing.
Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony called the Agni III test “a new milestone” in the country’s missile technology and said it put India on par with other developed countries in the area of missile technology.
“Agni III has confirmed India’s strategic capability for minimum credible deterrence,” he said.
It was the second test of Agni-III, a two-stage solid fuelled missile. The first test ended in failure last July when it developed problems after a successful take-off and crashed into the sea without hitting a designated target.
“With this success, the design team is happy that the problems faced in the previous attempt on July 9 last year have been fully understood and solved,” the ministry said.
Security analysts also cheered the successful test.
Bharat Karnad, research professor at the Center for Policy Research, said the Agni-III “gives India the strategic reach that ... certainly the military wants.” The next step would be the development of an inter-continental ballistic missile, he said.
Indian security analyst C. Uday Bhaskar said it would be “misleading to see the Agni test in a unifocal manner as anti-China.” “In the post-Cold War period, Weapons of Mass Destruction capability is not predicated on a single-point threat. The Agni test should be seen in the context of India trying to enhance its country’s overall strategic profile,” he said.
“Unlike in the Cold War, when adversaries were well identified, the current orientation is toward prudent insurance in a strategic sense.” Agni-III was originally scheduled for testing in 2003 but it was believed to have been deferred amid moves by archrivals India and Pakistan to bury decades of mutual hostility.
An Indian Foreign Ministry source in New Delhi said India, which signed an agreement with Pakistan on the pre-notification of ballistic missile tests in October 2005, had informed Islamabad of the latest Agni-III test.
India, which conducted nuclear weapons tests in 1998, has developed a series of nuclear and conventional missile systems as part of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO)’s Integrated Missile Development Program, which was launched in 1983.
The Agni is one of five missiles developed by the DRDO.
New Delhi has already begun the production of two variants of the Agni — a 700-km Agni-I and the 2,500-km range Agni-II after flight-testing both the ballistic missiles numerous times since 1993.
The other four missiles are the Prithvi, the surface-to-air Trishul, multi-purpose Akash, and the anti-tank Nag.
