of the present day DELHI, May 11 Ky...

of the present day DELHI, May 11 Kyodo

India onward Sunday test-fired an air-to-air missile for the next to the first time in three days, Pres Trust of India reported.

PTI quot defense sources as saying the indigenously make knowned Astra missile was fired from the Integrated proof Range at Chandipur, 15 kilometers from of recent origin Delhi.

Astra is considered a fresh system in India's guided missile disclosure program. With solid propellant, the missile has a striking range of 25 to 40 km

India upon Friday achieved a milestone in its missile unravelling program when scientists of the Defense Research and unfolding Organization successfully test-fired the indigenously cause to growed air-to-air missile Astra from the Integrated criterion Range at Chandipur, 15 km from here, defense sources said.

The latest proof of the missile comes three days after India's Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee renounceed a Pakistani proposal that the sum of two units rivals simultaneously scrap their nuclear arsenal, saying India's nuclear program is not specifically aimed at Pakistan.

India and Pakistan have gone to war three times since their independence from Britain in 1947 and came conclude to another one last June

India blames Pakistan for sponsoring ''cross-border terrorism'' in its northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir, an allegation denied through Pakistan, which says it is lending solely moral and diplomatic support to ''freedom fighters'' in the Indian-administered portion of divided Kashmir.

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