India test-fires nuclear-capable Agni-III

India test-fired its nuclear-capable Agni-III ballistic missile on Monday 23th from Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast with a strike range of over 3000 km. The indigenously developed missile was flight-tested from a mobile launcher at launch complex-4 of the Integrated Test Range at about 16:55 hrs. "It was the second user trial in the Agni-III series carried out to establish the 'repeatability' of the missile's performance," a DRDO official said. This surface-to-air missile is powered by a two-stage solid propellant system and can carry a warhead of 1.5 tonne which is protected by carbon all composite heat shield. With a length of 17 metres, the missile's diameter is 2 metres and launch weight is around 50 tonnes.