NEW DELHI: India successfully tested a new quick-reaction tactical missile on Thursday and would use it in battlefield support for the army, the defence ministry said.

The surface-to-surface “Prahaar” missile (which means “attack” in Hindi) can carry a variety of warheads weighing up to 200kg and hit targets 150km away.

The defence ministry said the missile was tested successfully off the coast of Orissa state. Within 205 seconds the missile “achieved terminal accuracy of less than 10 metres”.

Equipped with high-tech navigation and guidance equipment, the missile is meant to provide the Indian Army with a “cost-effective, quick-reaction, all-weather, all-terrain, accurate battlefield support tactical system,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Defence and Research and Development Organisation developed the missile in less than two years to fill the gap between multi-barrel rockets and medium-range ballistic missiles, which can fly distances of up to 350km.

India has been developing other missiles to strengthen its defence capability.—AP