NEW DELHI: India on Saturday succeeded for the first time in using a mobile launcher to test-fire a long-range missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead deep inside rival China.

Although Saturday's launch was the third test of the Agni V missile, it was the first time the weapon had been fired from a so-called cannister mounted on a truck rather than from a concrete launchpad used in previous trials.

The new delivery mechanism gives the armed forces increased operational flexibility.

“Successful test-firing of Agni V from a cannister makes the missile a prized asset for our forces,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter after the test on an island off the eastern state of Orissa.

The Agni V — developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation — was first tested in April 2012.

Analysts say the Agni V has the range to strike any target on the Chinese mainland, including military installations in the far northeast.

India sees the rocket, which has a range of 5,000 kilometres , as a key boost to its regional power aspirations and one that narrows — albeit slightly — the huge gap with China's missile systems.