Terming it a ‘text book launch’, the Defence Ministry said with this flight the developmental tests of the missile were complete and the system was now ready for induction. Officials said the third test of the Agni III was carried out to establish the ‘repeatability of missile performance’.

“The Missile reached the pre-designated target in 800 seconds, travelling through a peak height of 350 km with a velocity of more than 4,000 metres/second. Two Indian naval ships positioned near the target location south of the equator have confirmed the impact of the missile,” a Defence Ministry statement said.

Ministry officials said a new Ring Laser Gyro-based navigation system has been tested for the first time in the Agni missile system. They added that the missile system was equipped with sophisticated navigation, guidance and control and has electronic systems hardened for higher vibration, thermal and acoustic effects.

Wednesday’s test was traced by electro optic systems and radars located along the coast, in Port Blair and also by Indian Navy ships positioned near the target location.

“The flight test is a complete success and met all mission objectives. With this flight, the developmental flights of AGNI-III are complete and the system is ready for induction,” said programme director Avinash Chander.

While China has had missiles, which can hit any target in India for a long time, the solid fuelled Agni-III missile has for the first time given New Delhi the range to strike deep within China and target cities like Shanghai and Beijing. Officials, however, repeatedly sought to downplay the projection of Agni-III as a “China-specific” missile, saying that the radius of the missile range made it possible to target locations in all directions. This missile can be launched from both a road-based system and a broad-gauge rail launcher system, making it highly mobile and difficult to detect. The missile could be launched from a submarine also, Group Captain R K Das said in Kolkata.

The missile’s entry into the stratosphere before descending back to the earth’s surface makes it difficult for the enemy radars to detect it. “Of course, the foreign radars would be spotting the launch, but once it enters into the stratosphere, it can’t be tracked till it re-enters. With the total flight time for its range being around 15 minutes, it would give very little time for detection and launching of anti-missile systems,” officials said.