NEW DELHI, April 9 (UPI) -- India is expected to conduct a test launch of its largest nuclear-capable missile sometime this week.
Sources told Press Trust of India over the weekend that the Agni-III missile would be launched from the Wheeler Island range between Tuesday and Friday.
The test will be the latest in a series of recent missile tests by India and its rival, Pakistan, and is in keeping with a pattern of tit-for-tat launches by the two nuclear-capable neighbors. Pakistan sent up a Hatf-II surface-to-surface vehicle at the end of March.
The launch was announced a day after Pakistan and India ended their latest round of talks over the disputed Siachen Glacier in the Himalayas with no progress reported in efforts to arrange a troop withdrawal from the remote area.
The Harf-III is capable of carrying nuclear weapons; however it is considered a short-range missile with a range of about 125 miles. The Agni-III is a long-range asset that has a stated range of 3,000 kilometer (1,864 miles) that could be extended to 5,000 kilometers (3,106 miles), defense experts told PTI.
PTI said the Agni-III is the longest-range missile in southern Asia, although China has some missiles with a greater reach.
The Agni-III underwent a failed test launch last summer, but has been successfully tested once since that time.
