Successful India Agni-V missile test

India on Thursday test-fired the Agni-V missile that can hit targets more than 5,000 km away. India on Thursday tested a new long-range missile capable of delivering a one-tonne nuclear warhead anywhere in regional military rival China, a defence source said. The 17-metre (56-foot) Agni V, with a range of more than 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles), was launched at 8:05 (0235 GMT) from a test site off the eastern state of Orissa, said an official at the site who declined to be identified. India may have missiles that can reach most parts of China but stands "no chance in an overall arms race" with the country, a Chinese daily said Thursday, when India test-fired its 5,000km range nuclear capable missile, and added that New Delhi would gain nothing by stirring "further hostility". A successful test would leave India knocking at the door of a select club of nations with inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) with ranges of up to 8,000km. Currently only the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – possess a declared ICBM capability. India views the 50-tonne Agni V as a major boost to its regional power aspirations and one that narrows – albeit slightly – the huge gap with China’s technologically advanced missile systems.