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India on Friday successfully test-fired nuclear weapons-capable Agni-3 ballistic missile from the Chandipur off Odisha coast, which has a strike range of more than 3,000 kilometres, officials said. The surface-to-surface missile was launched by the personnel of Strategic Forces Command (SFC) from a mobile launcher as part of a regular training exercise for the user. The missile was picked up randomly from the production lot and test fired, they said adding that the SFC is tasked with handling strategic weapons systems. The launch validated all operational and technical parameters, officials said. After the command for auto-launch was given, the two-stage solid-propelled missile took off on a designated flight path and homed onto the pre-designated target area in the Bay of Bengal with accuracy. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) sources said that it met all the mission objectives. Various parameters and trajectory of the 17-meter long missile were tracked and
India has "broken" UN limits on nuclear arms and long-range missiles and Pakistan should also be accorded the same "privilege", state-run Chinese media said today as it criticised New Delhi for carrying out Agni-4 and 5 missile tests whose range covers the Chinese mainland. "India has broken the UN's limits on its development of nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missile," the ruling Communist Party-run tabloid Global Times said in its editorial. "The US and some Western countries have also bent the rules on its nuclear plans. New Delhi is no longer satisfied with its nuclear capability and is seeking intercontinental ballistic missiles that can target anywhere in the world and then it can land on an equal footing with the UN Security Council's five permanent members," it said. "India is 'promising' in vying for permanent membership on the UN Security Council as it is the sole candidate who has both nuclear capability and economic potential," it said. "China should realis