India's test-firing of its longest-range nuclear-capable missile, the Agni III, was unsuccessful after the projectile crashed into the sea despite a smooth take-off, a defense ministry official said yesterday.
The launch of the ballistic Agni took place on Sunday morning from Wheeler island off India's eastern coast.
The Defense Ministry had initially declared Sunday's test of India's longest-range missile a success but yesterday the defense ministry official in New Delhi confirmed Indian media reports which said the two-stage missile had plunged into the Bay of Bengal, short of its target, after going up for 12km and then losing height.
The missile was in the air for about five minutes, at least 10 minutes less than expected.
"The take-off was successful but there were some problems later," Indian Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee was quoted in the Times of India as saying.
"It will take some time to analyse the data about the flight performance," said Mukherjee, who witnessed the launch.
India, which has an estimated 100-to-150 nuclear warheads and staged tests in 1974 and 1998, is developing a range of missiles including the Agni series as part of a defense strategy against neighbors China and Pakistan, also armed with atomic weapons.
Indian defense analyst C. Uday Bhaskar dismissed speculation in the Indian media that the missile -- with the potential to hit targets in China -- was designed with that country in mind.
"Any strategic capability is not aimed at any particular nation. To say it is China-specific is misleading," Bhaskar said.
Relations between India and China have often been tense, marked by decades of mutual suspicion rooted in a 1962 border war. But relations have warmed considerably in recent years as the two Asian giants have boosted trade and economic ties.
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