India test-fired a surface-to-air missile Tuesday from a launch site in the country's east, the defense ministry said. The Akash missile, which is designed to carry conventional weapons, was fired from a mobile launcher at a testing area in the eastern state of Orissa, said B.S. Menon, an Indian defense ministry spokesman. "It has met all specifications and hit the target," Menon said of the Akash launch. The Press Trust of India news agency reported that the missile tested Tuesday carried a 60-kilogram (132-pound) warhead. The missile was fired at a target attached to an unmanned aircraft flying at an altitude of 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) and hit it successfully.
