India Tested Another Nuclear-Capable Missile,China On Target

India successfully tested a nuclear-capable missile that can hit targets deep inside China, joining the ranks of nations possessing intermediate-range missile capacity, the defence ministry said.

The missile was fired from a mobile launcher Wednesday morning at a testing site on Wheeler Island off the coast of the eastern state of Orissa.

The missile, which has a 3,000-kilometre (1,860-mile) range, can carry conventional or nuclear payloads of 1.5 tonnes, and puts China's major cities such as Shanghai within striking distance.

The surface-to-surface projectile reached its designated target in 13 minutes and 20 seconds travelling through a peak height of 350 kilometres with a velocity of more than 4,000 metres per second.

The Agni-III -- Agni means fire in Sanskrit -- was first tested in 2006.

India has shorter-range missiles that were developed to target long-time rival Pakistan with which it has fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947.

The Agni-III is the country's first solid fuel missile that is compact enough for easy mobility.