Govt to testfire Agni III this year

In a major step that will boost its missile-delivery capabilities, India is all set to testfire the 3,000-km range Agni III missile early this year. According to Dr V.K. Aatre, scientific advisor to the Defence Minister, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is all set to launch tests for the long-range missile as well as the anti-tank Nag. The Agni I and II have already entered the induction phase.

India has started exploring possibilities of joint R&D with Israel for electronic warfare, sensors for LCA and UAVs. This was discussed when Aatre led a high-level DRDO delegation to Israel recently. Meanwhile, the BrahMos missile, jointly developed by India and Russia, has been cleared by the Navy for induction. The DRDO is also all set to begin work on a version of the supersonic cruise missile for the IAF and is likely to be married to the SU-30MKI, said Aatre. Weapon-locating radars have also been developed and will supplement the ANTPQ-37 radars imported from the US.