(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-19 21:15

NEW DELHI -- India testfired medium-range surface-to-air missile Akash twice from Chandipur defense base in Orissa of the country Wednesday afternoon, according to Indo-Asian News Service.

The multi-target missiles carrying live warhead each were test-fired from the Integrated Test Range Chandipur-on-sea, some 230 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar between 01:45 p.m. and 02:00 p.m. local time.

The missiles targeted a flying object dropped from a pilot-less aircraft, which was flown from the test range a few minutes earlier.

Akash, developed by the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization, weighs 650 kg and has a range of 25 km.