India has successfully launched a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile able to carry a nuclear warhead, officials say.
The Agni-V missile was launched from a site off India's east coast and took 20 minutes to hit its target somewhere near Indonesia in the Indian Ocean. The missile has a range of more than 5,000km (3,100 miles), potentially bringing targets in China within range. It is still unclear if it reached the 5,000km range India was hoping for. If it is confirmed as a successful test, India would join an elite nuclear club of China, Russia, France, the US and UK which already have long-range missiles, although with a much greater range. Israel is also thought to possess them. "It was a perfect launch. It met all the test parameters and hit its pre-determined target," SP Das, director of the test range, told the BBC. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated the scientists for the "successful launch" of the missile. It was launched from Wheeler Island off the coast of the eastern state of Orissa at 0805 local time (0235GMT) on Thursday "Today's launch represents another milestone in our quest for our security, preparedness and to explore the frontiers of science," Mr Singh said.
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