国际英语新闻:India successfully testfires Agni-I nuclear missile

NEW DELHI, March 14 (Xinhua) -- India on Monday successfully testfired its home-made, nuclear-capable intermediate range Agni-I ballistic missile from a test range off the coast of the eastern state of Odisha, sources said.

"The surface-to-surface, single-stage missile, with a target range of 700 km, was testfired from the Integrated Test Range. It successfully hit the target during the testfiring that was part of a user trial by the Indian Army," the sources said.

Developed by the state-owned Defense Research and Development Organisation, Agni-I is equipped with sophisticated navigation system that makes sure the missile hits the target with a high degree of accuracy and precision.

The missile was developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program after the Kargil War with Pakistan in 1999 to fill the gap between 250 km range of Prithvi-II and 2,500 km range of Agni-II. It was first launched in January 2002 from a road mobile launcher at the same test range.