Agencies/Bhubaneswar/New Delhi

India yesterday succeeded for the first time in using a mobile launcher to test-fire a long-range missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead deep inside China.
Although yesterday’s launch was the third test of the Agni V missile, it was the first time the weapon had been fired from a so-called canister mounted on a truck rather than from a concrete launchpad used in previous trials.
The new delivery mechanism gives the armed forces increased operational flexibility.
“Successful test-firing of Agni V from a canister makes the missile a prized asset for our forces,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter after the test on an island off the eastern state of Odisha.
The Agni V - developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation - was first tested in April 2012.
Analysts say the Agni V has the range to strike any target on the Chinese mainland, including military installations in the far northeast.
India sees the rocket, which has a range of 5,000km, as a key boost to its regional power aspirations and one that narrows - albeit slightly - the huge gap with China’s missile systems.
Agni, meaning “fire” in Sanskrit, is the name given to a series of rockets India developed as part of a guided missile development project launched in 1983.
India’s nuclear missiles can be fired only on direct orders from the prime minister.
New technologies related to the missile’s navigation, engine and other equipment were incorporated into the rocket before the latest test, DRDO spokesman Ravi Gupta said.
A few more tests will follow, the last to be carried out by the armed forces, after which production and then induction into the armed forces would be carried out, Gupta said.
While the shorter-range Agni I and II were mainly developed with Pakistan in mind, analysts say later versions with a longer range reflect the shift in India’s focus towards China.