India test fires nuclear-capable ballistic missile, a day after Pakistan fires Ghauri missile

Bhubaneswar: India on Thursday test-fired its nuclear-capable Agni-III ballistic missile, with a range of over 3,000 km, from a base in Odisha, an official said.

The surface-to-surface missile was fired from a launch complex at the Inner Wheeler Island off the coast of Dhamra in Bhadrak district, about 200 km from here.

Agni-III is capable of carrying warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes. It is 16 metres in length and weighs 48 tonnes. The missile has a two-stage solid propellant system. It can re-enter the atmosphere at a very high velocity.

Agni-III is a rail mobile system capable missile and can be launched from anywhere in India.

This comes a day after Pakistan successfully test-fired a new ballistic missile which is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads up to a distance of 1,300 kilometres, bringing many Indian cities under its range. IANS, PTI