India's nuclear-capable Agni-III fails night test: report

The Indian army was left embarrassed on Saturday after its failed attempt of conducting a night test of nuclear-capable Agni-III missile, according to a report published by Indian news publication New Indian Express.

The mission proved to be a disappointment after the nuclear missile crashed into the sea in Odisha. Sources told the Indian publication, the missile deviated from its flight path and the mission team had to terminate it.

"Starting from the launch to the first phase separation, everything was smooth in accordance with the mission plan but suddenly it started behaving abnormally" the publication quoted sources as saying.

"It could possibly be due to metallurgical defects," it added. The missile, which could carry both conventional and nuclear warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes, had already been inducted in the inventory back in 2011.

Two other variants of the missile, Agni-I and Agni-II, have failed during both development and user trials in the past. Agni-II had failed to deliver desired result during its first night trial in 2009.