Setback for Modi’s govt: Agni-III missile test fails due to ‘manufacturing defect’

• Soon after its launch from Abdul Kalam Island, the missile plunged into the sea after its first stage separation.
• The missile deviated from its path that forced the launching team to terminate it midway.
• Initial investigations reveal there was a manufacturing defect in the Agni-III missile.

(Karachi) In a setback for Narendra Modi-led government, India’s Agni-III ballistic missile failed its maiden night test launch and crashed into the sea, Indian media reported on Monday.

Soon after its launch from the Abdul Kalam Island, the missile plunged into the sea after its first stage separation.

The Agni-III missile is capable of hauling conventional and nuclear warheads upto 2,000 kilometers.

Things went awry when the missile travelled 115 kilometres to its initial flight trajectory. The missile deviated from its path that forced the launching team to terminate it midway.

Initial investigations revealed that there was a ‘manufacturing defect’ in the Agni-III missile. The test was stated to be crucial as it was about testing the technical parameters of the ballistic missile.

The missile that was tested was picked up randomly from the production lot.

Earlier, two other variants of the missile, Agni-I and Agni-II, also failed during both development and user trials in the past.

Agni-II had failed to deliver desired result during its first night trial in 2009. Developed by DRDO, Agni-III has already been inducted in the armed forces in 2011.