Bhubaneswar :  India Friday test fired its nuclear-capable Agni-III ballistic missile from a base in Odisha, an official said. The surface-to-surface missile, with a range of over 3,000 km, was fired from a launching complex of the Inner Wheeler Island near Dhamra in Bhadrak district, about 200 km from here.

"The test was successful. It was conducted by strategic forces command of the Indian Army," defence ministry spokesperson Ravi Kumar Gupta told IANS. The latest test comes two days after the second successful launch of the 4,000-km range Agni-IV missile from the same base. Agni-III is capable of carrying warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes.

It is 16 metres tall and weighs 48 tonnes. This missile has a two-stage solid propellant system. It re-enters into the atmosphere with a very high velocity.

Agni-III is a Rail Mobile System capable and can be launched from anywhere in India. The other two missiles in Agni series - Agni-I and Agni-II - have a range of 750-800 km and over 1,500 km respectively. Both have been inducted in the armed forces.