Agni missile to be tested in 2007: DRDO

The Agni-III test on July 9 this year failed when the missile's second stage did not separate and fell into the sea.

Undeterred by the failure of the test of the Agni-III missile, the DRDO will go ahead with the programme and conduct another launch next year, DRDO chief M Natarajan said on Thursday.

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In an informal chat with reporters here, he said an expert committee was looking into the reasons for the failure of the first test of the Agni-III on July 9.

"We are going ahead. We will conduct the re-trial of Agni next year. Since we are making corrections, we will re-trial next year. There is no question of dropping the project," said Natarajan, who is also scientific advisor to the defence minister.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation will use a new critical motorcase hardware made of special steel for the test, he said.

"We will transfer technology to units which are manufacturing components of the missile," he said after visiting Ramakrishna Engineering Company here that is involved in making Agni missile components.

The Agni-III test failed when the missile's second stage did not separate and it fell into the sea. The missile was designed to have a range of 3,500 km.