India test fires nuclear-capable missile

70New Dehli: India test-fired a nuclear-capable missile on Tuesday with a range of up to 1,860 miles (3,000 kilometers), a defence ministry official said.

The surface-to-surface "Agni-II" (Fire) missile was fired from Wheelers Island in the eastern state of Orissa as a trial by the army, the official said. The area is 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa state.

The missile can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads weighing up to 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms), the official said.

India's current crop of missiles are mostly intended for confronting neighbouring archrival Pakistan, but the Agni-II can put areas in southern China within a striking range, said Rahul Bedi, a defence analyst with Jane's Defence Weekly, a weekly magazine reporting on military affairs.