India's Longest Range Missile:Agni III.

On February 7, 2010 India successfully test fired her most powerful indigenously-developed intermediate-range ballistic missile Agni III. It is India's longest range missile which blasted off from Wheeler Island, (Balasore) off Orissa coast. Agni III is being manufactured by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL). Agni -III is 17 meters, 48 tonne missile which has a range of 3500 kms and is capable of carrying a pay load of 1.5 Tonnes.

The missile hit its target with pinpoint accuracy and met all the mission objectives. Two down range ships located near the target tracked and witnessed the missile reaching its target accurately.With the successful test of Agni-III it falls within the reach of most major Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.Agni-III is the third in the Agni series of missiles. The ranges are as follows:

1. Agni-I : short range ballistic missile, 500 - 700 Km range.
2. Agni-II :medium range ballistic missile, 2,000- 3,000 Km range.
3. Agni-III: intermediate range ballistic missile, 3,000 - 5,500 Km range.

Now India will develop Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile which shall have 5000 - 6000 Km. 

Agni-I was first tested in 1989, The Agni-II was first tested on 11 April 1999. Agni-III was tested on July 9, 2006, however it was reported that the second stage of the rocket had failed to separate and the missile had fallen well short of its target. Agni-III was again tested on April 12, 2007, this time successfully, from the Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa.On May 7, 2008 India again successfully test fired this missile. This was the third consecutive test; it validated the missile's operational readiness while extending the reach of India's nuclear deterrent to most high-value targets of the nation's most likely adversaries.

The Missile Re-enters into the atmosphere with a very high velocity and experiences a deceleration of more than 35 g and a temperature of more than 2500 °C. The payload is protected by Carbon-Carbon all composite heat shield. The A3 is Rail Mobile System capable of being launched from any where in India.

The complete Integration and launch activities are carried out under the leadership of AGNI Programme Director, Sri Avinash Chander, who declared the AGNI 3 flight test a complete success and met all the Mission objectives. He also said that, with this flight, the developmental flights of AGNI 3 are complete and the system is ready for induction. 

Source:Gk Media.

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