Bhadrak (Orissa): India Wednesday successfully tested its longest-range nuclear capable missile Agni-III, catapulting the country into the select group of nations that have intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM).

Adding another dimension to the nation's arsenal, Agni-III with a range of 3,000 km is a mobile system capable of being launched from anywhere in India. Its range includes major cities in China, apart from all of south Asia.

Agni-III, which is capable of carrying warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes, was tested at exactly 9.56 a.m. from the Inner Wheeler Island at Dhamra, a launch site in Bhadrak district, about 200 km from Orissa capital Bhubaneswar.

"It was a text book launch and followed the trajectory with single digit guidance accuracy. All the subsystems of the missile functioned in a copybook manner giving an outstanding integrated performance of the missile in terms of range and accuracy," a defence ministry statement said.

The missile reached the pre-designated target in 800 seconds, reaching a peak height of 350 km with a velocity of more than 4 km per second. Two Indian Navy ships positioned near the target location south of the equator have confirmed the impact of the missile.

"It was a perfect launch and the missile has passed development phase," director of Integrated Test Range (ITR) S.P Dash told IANS from the site after the test.