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”.