India tests nuclear-capable missile
BHUBANESHWAR: India on Wednesday successfully tested a short-range, nuclear-capable missile with a range of 220 miles, an official said.
The army twice fired the surface-to-surface missile Prithvi II from a range in Chandipur in the eastern state of Orissa, said S.P. Dash, a senior official at the range. ‘‘The test was successful,’’ Dash told The Associated Press.
The missile, which mainly would target military installations, can carry a warhead weighing up to 1,100 pounds, Dash said.
It already has been tested more than a half-dozen times. However, a test of the same missile three months ago failed due to technical problems.
India and longtime rival Pakistan routinely test-fire missiles, and usually notify each other ahead of the launches.
New Delhi has said it developed its current crop of missiles — including the short-range Prithvi, the anti-tank Nag and the supersonic BrahMos — as a deterrent against neighbors China and Pakistan.
India’s Agni-II missile, with a range of up to 1,250 miles, can put areas of southern China within striking distance. And the Agni-III, successfully tested last year, can carry nuclear warheads across much of Asia and the Middle East.
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