Sputnik News:
India successfully test-fired its longest range nuclear capable Agni V missile on Monday morning from a defense test facility in the eastern coast of Odisha. Agni-V is a canisterised, road-mobile nuclear-capable missile developed under a $375 million project sanctioned by the government in 2008.
This is the third successful test of the missile this year. Defense scientists along with the Strategic Forces Command tested the missile in January and June of this year.
The 17-metre-long, 2-metre-wide, three-stage, solid-fuelled missile weighing around 50 tonnes and capable of carrying a payload of 1.5 tonnes is being considered a major deterrent against China.
China had openly expressed discontent over India’s Agni-V project when the missile was tested in December 2016. China had said the test was against UN Security Council rules and that it threatened to disrupt the strategic geopolitical balance in South Asia.
