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Thursday, February 11, 2010 NEW DELHI: India will test a nuclear-capable missile with a range over 5,000 kilometres (3,000 miles) within a year, the country's top military scientist said Wednesday, which could stoke regional tensions. "The next series of missiles is Agni-V, which has left the drawing board and is moving toward the first flight trial within the year," the country's chief military scientist V.K. Saraswat told a news conference in New Delhi. India's current longest-range nuclear-capable missile Agni-III can travel a maximum of 3,500 kilometres and Saraswat announced the system was now ready for use by the military. "It is the full deterrence that the country needs," he said.

Sunday, February 07, 2010 BHUBHANESWAR: India successfully tested a nuclear-capable missile on Sunday, a defence source said, days after proposing a resumption of talks with arch-rival Pakistan. The surface-to-surface Agni-III missile with a range of more than 3,000 kilometres (2,000 miles) was tested from Wheeler Island, off the coast of the eastern state of Orissa. "All the parameters have been met, the test was successful," the source said, adding the missile was fired from a railway mobile launcher. It was the fourth test of the weapon, which can carry conventional or nuclear payloads of 1.5 tonnes and uses solid fuel. India on Wednesday said it was open to foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan, signalling a major breakthrough in relations frozen since the 2008 attacks in Mumbai. New Delhi had steadfastly refused to restart talks despite repeated Islamabad peace overtures.

Monday, February 01, 2010 VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE: The Air Force says a missile-intercept test failed when a long-range missile launched from California missed a target missile launched from a Pacific island because of radar problems. A statement posted on the Vandenberg Air Force Base Web site says the target missile was launched from the Kwajale in Atoll in the Marshall Islands on Sunday at about 3:40 p.m. local time (2340 GMT) and the long-range interceptor missile was launched from California's central coast shortly after. The statement says both missiles launched and flew without trouble but the system's sea-based X-band radar did not perform as expected and the interceptor missed its target. The statement says officials from the Missile Defense Agency that conducted the test will conduct an extensive investigation to determine the cause of the failure.

Friday, December 11, 2009 MOSCOW: Russia admitted on Thursday another failed test of its much-touted Bulava intercontinental missile, after unusual lights were spotted in Norway across the border from the launch site.The submarine-based Bulava (Mace) missile has been billed as Russia's newest technological breakthrough to support its nuclear deterrent, but the repeated test failures are an embarrassment for the Kremlin.The missile failed in its 13th test on Wednesday morning, Russia's leading economic dailies Vedomosti and Kommersant reported on Thursday, quoting sources in the military-industrial complex.Hours later, the Defense Ministry admitted the failure, saying the launch had been made by the Dmitry Donskoi nuclear submarine from a submerged position in the White Sea."It has been established ... that the missile's first two stages worked as normal, but there was a technical malfunction at the next, third, stage of the trajectory," a Defense Ministry spokesm...

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 BALASORE: India's nuclear-capable intermediate range Agni-II missile, test-fired for the first time after sunset on Monday, reportedly failed to get the desired results.The Army test-fired the surface-to-surface Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) from Wheeler’s Island, Bhadrak district, around 7.50pm.‘‘The liftoff and the first stage separation was smooth. But it faltered just before the second stage separation and behaved erratically, deviating from its coordinated path. Further analysis is on to ascertain the cause,’’ said a source. The entire trajectory of Monday’s trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and a naval ship. The launch, originally scheduled in the first week of this month, was deferred due to some technical snags in its pneumatic system. Though the snags were rectified, another glitch surfaced during Monday’s test, leadi...

BHUBANESWAR: India carried out a night-time test of a nuclear-capable, medium-range ballistic missile off its eastern coast on Monday, a defence official said.The surface-to-surface Agni-II, which can deliver a nuclear warhead to targets within a range of 2,500 kilometres (1,560 miles), was fired from a mobile rail launcher on Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa state at 7:50pm (1420 GMT)."It was a user training trial to handle the missile at night," the defence official told a foreign news agency on condition of anonymity.The Indian-developed 20-metre-long missile, which has a launch weight of 16 tonnes, is capable of carrying a one-tonne conventional or nuclear warhead.The missile is one of a series being developed by India's Defence Research Development Organisation as part of the country's deterrent strategy against nuclear-armed neighbours China and Pakistan.India already has the 3,000-kilometre range Agni-III missile -- the longest in the Agni series -- whic...

TEHRAN: Iran test-fired on Monday a missile which defence analysts have said could hit Israel and US bases in the Gulf region, Geo News reported.It said the surface-to-surface Shahab 3 missile was tested during missile manoeuvres by the elite Revolutionary Guards that got under way on Sunday. Iranian officials have said the Shahab 3, which was last tested in mid-2008, can travel about 2,000 km.The manoeuvres coincide with increased tension in Iran's nuclear dispute with the West, after last week's disclosure by Tehran that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant.

The 11th test flight of an R-30 Bulava (SS-NX-30) solid-propellant ballistic missile, from the Borey-class flagship submarine Yury Dolgoruky in the White Sea on July 15 resulted in self-destruction of the missile at an initial stage of flight. According to the Russian Defense Ministry statement the first stage of the missile malfunctioned and the weapon self-destructed. Special investigation commission has already established to find the failure cause, a ministry representative told reporters. It was the sixth failure for the Bulava. After previous unsuccessful launch on December 2008 tests were suspended until the origin of malfunction had been determined. Officials from the investigation committee blamed low-quality components as a major source of problems. Earlier this year, Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Popovkin said the ministry expects to complete trials by the end of 2009. Consequently, more than four missiles were planned to be built and tested this year, with the missiles ...

Monday, July 06, 2009 SEOUL: Impoverished North Korea has spent an estimated 700 million dollars this year on nuclear and missile tests, enough to solve its food shortage for at least two years; South Korean news reports said Monday. The figure includes the estimated 43 million dollar cost of test-firing five Scud and two Rodong missiles Saturday, according to unidentified government officials quoted by Chosun Ilbo newspaper. The latest tests, staged on the US Independence Day holiday, were seen as a show of defiance to Washington as it seeks tough enforcement of UN sanctions aimed at shutting down the communist state's nuclear and missile programmes.Officials quoted by media estimated it cost 300 million dollars to launch a long-range Taepodong-2 missile on April 5, and another 10 million to launch 10 short-range missiles in recent weeks. In addition, they estimated the May 25 underground nuclear test -- the country's second since 2006 -- cost between 300-400 million dollars.

, Saturday, July 04, 2009 SEOUL: North Korea test-fired a seventh missile Saturday from its base on the east coast, South Korea's defence ministry said. The missile fired at 5.40 pm (0840 GMT) had the same range as the six fired earlier in the day, a spokesman said.

Saturday, July 04, 2009 SEOUL: North Korea test-fired five ballistic missiles Saturday, South Korean officials said, in an apparent message of defiance to the United States on the eve of its Independence Day holiday. They came as Washington seeks support for tough enforcement of United Nations sanctions aimed at shutting down the North's nuclear and missile programmes. Seoul's foreign ministry said the first four weapons launched into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) were ballistic missiles, which the North is banned from firing under various Security Council resolutions. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the latest missile, fired at 2:50 pm (0550 GMT), was of the same type as the first four. It was the first time in three years that the North fired multiple ballistic missiles. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said they had a range of between 400 and 500 km (250-312 miles) but declined to say what type they were. A local news agency said they were either Scuds, or Rodon...