India Tuesday successfully test-fired a short-range, surface-to-air missile from a remote range in eastern Orissa state, defence ministry sources said.
The Trishul, or trident, missile was fired at 11:58 am (0628 GMT) from the testing site at Chandipur 200 kilometres (125 miles) northeast of the state capital Bhubaneswar, the sources said.
Powered by a two-stage solid propellant system and fitted with a 5.5 kilogram (12 pound) fragmented warhead, the missile achieved a target range of nine kilometres (5.6 miles), the sources said.
The range can be enhanced with the completion of its other trials, the sources said.
The three-metre (10-foot) long Trishul has already been tested on the sea and also against moving targets. It flies at supersonic speed and has a triple battlefield role for the three services — army, navy and air force.
Trishul is part of India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, which was launched in 1983 to develop and produce a wide range of missiles for surface-to-surface and surface-to-air roles.
South Asian rivals India and Pakistan routinely conduct missile tests despite a formal peace process begun in January 2004 to end their longstanding dispute over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, trigger of two of their three wars.
