India ready to test 'nuclear' missile
India will soon test fire a new missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads across much of Asia and the Middle East, a top defence scientist claimed today.
The first test-firing of the Agni III missile failed in July last year, but it will be test fired again “very soon” as scientists have fixed a fault in its heat shield, the head of India’s state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation said.
“We have now come up with a flexible heat shield. All other parameters of the missile would remain the same,” Director General M Natarajan said.
Natarajan did not give an exact timeframe for the test. “It may be in May or June or even earlier,” he said.
India’s current crop of missiles have been largely intended to confront neighbour Pakistan. The Agni III, in contrast, is India’s longest-range missile, designed to reach 1,900 miles – putting China’s major cities well into range, as well as targets deep in the Middle East.
It is also said to be capable of carrying up to a 300 kiloton nuclear warhead.
