The Trishul was fired a day after the Indian military tested its surface-to-air missile, Akash, at the same location of Chandipur-on-Sea.

Trishul, which was last tested on October 5, is being designed for use by the army, airforce and the navy and can transport a 15-kilogramme (33 pound) conventional warhead up to nine kilometers (5.5 miles).

The missile has high maneuverability and has been flight-tested in the sea-skimming role and also against land-based and airborne targets.

India has stepped up the testing of three of the five guided-missile systems it has developed as part of an ambitious programme launched in 1983 to become self-reliant in missile technology.

India, which conducted a series of nuclear devices in 1998, has already developed and deployed two ballistic missiles and a surface missile.

It hopes to cap the programme with a 5,000-kilometre (3,125-mile) range ballistic missile to give it the capability of striking beyond South Asia.

Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars, two over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and frequently test-fire missiles.

The neighbours came close to a fourth war in 2002 but relations have since warmed as part of a slow moving peace process aimed at settling their decades-old dispute over Kashmir.

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