India test-launches air-to-air missile

India on Monday successfully test fired a new solid-propellant air-to-air missile, the IANS news agency reported.

The Astra beyond-visual-range missile was launched from its Integrated Test Range (ITR) off the Orissa coast.

"The test was a success," ITR Director S.P. Dash told IANS.

The Astra missile was developed by the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). This is India's first indigenous air-to-air missile that enables fighter pilots to lock on and shoot down enemy aircraft 80 km away.

The missile can also intercept supersonic targets.

NEW DELHI, January 11 (RIA Novosti)