n this photograph taken on January 26, 2012, an Agni IV missile is displayed at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi.  India on Septeber 19, 2012, has successfully tested its second longest-range missile but insisted the nuclear-capable weapon system was not aimed at any of its regional rivals. The Agni-IV blasted off from the eastern state of Orissa in the second such flight test since April when India launched a missile capable of delivering a one-tonne nuclear warhead anywhere in rival China.    AFP PHOTO/RAVEENDRAN/FILES
In this photograph taken on January 26, 2012, an Agni IV missile is displayed at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi. –AFP PHOTO/FILES

NEW DELHI: India test-fired its second-longest-range missile on Wednesday, a defence official said, two days after Pakistan announced its own missile test.

The two-stage Agni-IV blasted off from the eastern state of Orissa in the third test for the missile, which was first launched in 2010 in a flight marred by technical problems. Its second test last November was declared a success.

“The Agni-IV was tested for its full range of 4,000 kilometres (2,480 miles) and it was a success,” Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) spokesman Ravi Gupta told AFP on Wednesday.

Pakistan, which has fought three wars with arch-rival India since their 1947 independence, test-fired a nuclear-capable cruise missile on Monday with “stealth features”.

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