India successfully test-fired a medium range surface-to-air missile on Monday from a range on an island off the coast of the eastern state of Orissa, defence sources said. The home-grown missile named Akash - sky in Hindi - was fired from a mobile launcher Monday afternoon at the Chandipur-on-Sea testing site, 200 kilometres north-east of Bhubaneswar, Orissa's state capital. It successfully hit a pilotless target aircraft, a defence source said.

The 700-kilogram (1,540-pound) Akash can carry a 70 kilogram warhead and is designed to travel 27 kilometres.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2005