AP said the new nuclear-capable missile gives India, for the first time, the capability of striking the major Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai. [break]
According the reports, the 17-metre (56-foot) Agni V has a range of more than 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles) and was launched at 8:05 (0235 GMT) from a test site off the eastern state of Orissa.
The head of India´s Defense Research and Development Organization, Vijay Saraswat, told Times Now news channel that the missile rose to an altitude of more than 600 kilometres, its three stages worked properly and its payload was deployed as planned.
“India has emerged from this launch as a major missile power,” AP quoted Saraswat as saying .
With the successful test, India now stands the door of a select club of nations with inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) with ranges of up to 8,000 kilometres.
Currently only the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- possess a declared ICBM capability.
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