Monday, July 10 2006 15:52 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: India's top defence scientists were Monday probing the snag that caused the nuclear capable intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) Agni-III to crash into the sea well short of its intended 3,000 km range.

"Data from the launch pad and from the tracking stations is being minutely examined. While it would be too early to hazard a guess as to what went wrong, it would seem that a design defect prevented the second stage from separating," a defence ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"Because of this, the missile couldn't maintain its intended trajectory and could stay aloft for only five minutes instead of the 15 minutes it was intended to," the official explained.

"Since this was the first time the missile was being tested there was every possibility of glitches developing. Once these are ironed out, another flight could be contemplated," the official added, not wanting to hazard a guess as to when the next flight could take place.

Agni-III, India's longest range missile yet which is capable of reaching targets in China, was test fired at 11.03 a.m. from the Wheeler Island facility off the Orissa coast Sunday. It rose to a height of 12 km before it came crashing into the Bay of Bengal, 1,000 km from the launch site.

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) that developed the three-stage missile were among those who witnessed the launch.

DRDO officials immediately went into a huddle to examine data from the launch pad and the tracking stations in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to probe the cause of the snag that prevented the missile from fulfilling its mission parameters.

According to Mukherjee, there was no cause for despondency.

"The first phase of the launch was successful. In the second phase, there was a technical snag, which is being analysed. This is not abnormal," he told reporters in Kolkata Sunday night.

According to noted defence analyst Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar, the launch could not be entirely termed a failure.

"It's an important punctuation in the evolution of India's credible nuclear deterrence. The fact that it took off is a major success. Re-entry is always a tricky situation and I would think it would take eight to 10 tests before it is fully evolves," Bhaskar told sources.

Agni-III, which has a range between 3,500 and 5,000 km, features two solid-fuelled stages and has an overall diameter of 1.8 metres. It can be deployed from rail or road mobile launch vehicles and from silos. It is equipped with inertial guidance systems with improved optical or radar terminal phase correlation systems that gives it a high degree of accuracy.

Agni-I, with a range of 700-800 km, and Agni-II, with a 2,000-km range, have already been inducted in the Indian Army.