India tests nuke-capable missile able to hit China

NEW DELHI (AP) — India announced the successful test launch Thursday of a new nuclear-capable missile that would give it the capability of striking the major Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai for the first time.

The Agni-V missile, with a range of 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles), still requires a battery of tests before it can be inducted into India's arsenal. But officials hailed the successful launch as a major boost to the country's efforts to counter China's regional dominance and become a respected world power in its own right.

"The nation stands tall today," Defense Minister A.K. Antony said, according to the Press Trust of India.

The test came just days after North Korea's own failed rocket launch, but sparked none of the same global condemnation that greeted that test.

Video released by the government showed the Agni-V taking off from a small launcher on what appeared to be railroad tracks at 8:07 a.m. from Wheeler Island off India's east coast. It rose on a pillar of flame, trailing billows of smoke behind, before arcing through the sky.

The missile hit an altitude of more than 600 kilometers (370 miles), its three stages worked properly and its payload was deployed as planned, the head of India's Defense Research and Development Organization, Vijay Saraswat, told Times Now news channel.

"India has emerged from this launch as a major missile power," he said.

The window for the launch opened Wednesday night, but the test had to be postponed because of weather conditions.

Avinash Chandra, mission director for the test, said that when the launch took place Thursday morning the missile performed as planned.

"We have achieved exactly what we wanted to achieve in this mission," he told Times Now.

The Chinese government did not immediately comment on the missile launch. State-owned China Central Television called the test "a historic moment for India and it shows that India has joined the club of the countries that own ballistic missiles."

The state broadcaster then enumerated some of the missile's shortcomings, from a problem with guidance systems to its 50-ton-plus weight, which it said would require it to be fired from fixed, not mobile positions and thus make it more vulnerable to attack.

"It does not pose a threat in reality," CCTV said.

The Agni-V is a solid-fuel, three-stage missile designed to carry a 1.5-ton nuclear warhead. It stands 17.5 meters (57 feet) tall and was buil