Delhi follows Islamabad in testing long-range missile

NEW DELHI - Agence France-Presse

India yesterday test-fired its second-longest-range missile, with a full range of 4,000 kilometers, a defense official said, two days after Pakistan announced its own missile test.

The two-stage Agni-IV blasted off from the eastern state of Orissa in the third test for the missile, which was first launched in 2010 in a flight marred by technical problems. Its second test last November was declared a success.

“The Agni-IV was tested and it was a success,” Defense Research and Development Organization spokesman Ravi Gupta said. India unveiled its 5,000-kilometer range Agni-V in April. Gupta insisted India’s test was not “country-specific.” Pakistan, which has fought three wars with arch-rival India since their 1947 independence, test-fired a nuclear-capable cruise missile on Sept. 17 with “stealth features.”